My Flower in a Field of Weeds
by M.L. Widmann
Summary: When Sara Hughes is sent overseas to attend Hogwarts, she is thrilled. But she has no idea what's coming her way when she befriends the Weasley twins. **If you enjoyed this fic, check out the SEQUEL "We'll Never Break as One Too Strong"**
1. I Won't Be Good at Magic

_Here is my first story in a series of five about a girl who gets shipped off to Hogwarts during Harry's fourth year. I hope you enjoy it, and I appreciate any criticism you feel the need to give.  
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters in this story, except for the main character and her family although I wish I could say that I do..._

**Part I:**

**My Flower in a Field of Weeds**

_**"I think I've found a flower in a field of weeds, searching until my hands bleed, this flower don't belong to me." – Billy Talent**_

Chapter One: I Won't Be Good at Magic

"Sara, Sara wake up!" I heard my little sister, Lizzy, scream. Her shrill voice was pounding in my ears.

"Lizzy, shut up."

"But we're here!" My eyes shot open immediately and I looked out the car window. We were here. Here at our new home in London, England. Lizzy and I had been two regular girls from Toronto, Ontario and we lived quite regularly with our friends and family. Of course, what was normal for us wasn't normal for other people. The Hughes family was filled with witches and wizards for as far back as anyone could remember. It was absolutely amazing the day I got my letter to go to St. Mary Parish School for Witches. I still remember my first days of the boarding school flawlessly. I had all the same friends I did when I left and I would miss them a lot, but I'd always wanted to travel to London and now we would be living there.

As we approached the house, I couldn't help but smirk. It was a nice two storey house with cute little shutters and a white picket fence. The perfect little home in a perfect little muggle neighbourhood. It was hard living in a muggle neighbourhood being who we were and all, but it just made it that much more fun to go to school each year. I was going into my sixth year of school, whichever I'd been accepted into, and Lizzy was just going into her first year. Although I was sixteen and she was eleven, everyone always said she and I were very identical. I saw no similarities.

I was very short for my age, only five foot four, and I was pretty fit from playing on my old school's Quidditch team. My hair was long, chestnut brown and I had long bangs to match. My eyes were big, brown and always framed with black eyeliner. Lizzy, on the other hand, had short brown hair, brown eyes that looked as if she was always squinting and she was already five feet tall. I was so jealous that she was naturally thin and I had to play Quidditch to stay in shape, but it didn't stop me from loving her to death.

My dad, my mom, Lizzy and I settled ourselves in the living room and Dad told us about the school we'd been transferred to.

"It's called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Dad began. He was quite tall, and about average build for a wizard in his mid-forties. He had the same dark hair Lizzy and I possessed, only his was thinning and he had a moustache on his upper lip. Before, Dad worked for the Ministry of Magic in Canada, but he'd gotten promoted to an assistant job to the Minister himself, Cornelius Fudge, who resided in London.

"Witchcraft and Wizardry?!" I exclaimed happily. "Like both witches and wizards?"

"That's what it means, honey, yes." Mom spoke up with a smile. Mom was a housewife. She spent all her time making us meals, keeping the house right, and taking care of the family.

"Brilliant." I'd gone to an all-witches school previously, and it wasn't very fun. I usually found myself befriending boys who lived near us and we'd always gotten along until they found out I was a witch. Girls usually didn't like me much. I'm not too sure why.

Dad continued. "The grounds are absolutely beautiful, and the castle is huge. The Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, is the most amazing wizard of our time. You two will love it there."

"What about dorms?" I asked. "How does that work?"

"Well, there are four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has a hidden common room and dormitories inside the castle."

"Daddy, I'm scared!" Lizzy huddled into a ball on the couch and hid her face in her hands.

"Why are you scared, Liz?"

"I'm going to get lost. Or I won't make any friends. Or I won't be good at magic!"

I just chuckled. My sister the drama queen. "Liz, calm down. You're going to be just fine. Imagine how the muggle-borns feel. They've never ever heard of magic, let alone seen it been done."

"Oh, I forgot about them."

"They're probably twice as scared as you."

"Yeah. Thanks Sara."

"Anytime."

I was in my room unpacking my clothes and organizing my closet when Dad came into the room and sat on my bed.

"Hey."

"Hi sweetheart. How's the unpacking going?"

"Fine. It would be so much easier if I could use magic outside of school, though."

"I know. I just thought I would come and tell you we're going back to school shopping today."

Immediately I perked up. "We are?"

"Yes." Dad chortled. He thought it was funny that I found something as routine as school shopping to be so fun. "We're setting off to Diagon Alley in an hour, you, Lizzy and I, so get ready."

The three of us walked along the sidewalk for an hour before we stopped at a black, dusty-looking shop and pushed the door open. The shop turned out to be a bar containing only a few wizards at the moment. After all, it was only midmorning.

"Well if it isn't... Matthew Hughes!" the bartender seemed to be very excited to see Dad.

"Tom!" Dad greeted happily. "Nice to see you again."

"It is, Mr. Hughes." Tom grinned. "Looking forward to taking your family to the Quidditch World Cup, mate?" I was speechless. How could Dad get tickets to the Quidditch Cup and not tell me?! Luckily, Liz found the words.

"Why didn't you tell us we were going to see Quidditch?"

Tom had a look of embarrassment plastered on his face. "Oh no, had you not told them?"

"Ah it's alright," Dad smirked. "They'd have found out eventually."

Finally, I got my voice back. "How did you get these tickets?"

"Well," he began, "the Ministry gave them to me along with the promotion."

"When are we going?"

"It's two weeks from now."

I couldn't help but smirk. "Bloody brilliant." Quidditch was the most amazing game of all. One team had seven players: three chasers, two beaters, a keeper and a seeker, all of which were on broomsticks. The chasers handled a red, soccer-ball sized ball called the quaffle and tried to get it through one of three gold hoops about fifty feet off the ground. The keeper guarded these hoops. Each time the quaffle went through a hoop, the team earned ten points. The beaters each had a bat in which to hit the two bludgers at their opponents. Bludgers were two black balls only a little smaller than the quaffle that flew around and tried to knock players off their brooms. The seeker had only one job: catch the golden snitch. The snitch was a golden, walnut-sized ball with wings. Whichever team's seeker caught it first won their team one hundred and fifty points. When the snitch was caught, the game was over. I was a chaser on my old school's Quidditch team and I loved the sport. My broom was the second fastest in the world – a Nimbus Two-Thousand and One.

Tom chuckled. "Well then, have fun at the Cup and tell me how it went."

"Will do." Dad said.

We went around to the back of the bar, which I found to be called The Leaky Cauldron, only to be closed into a tiny space with three brick walls blocking us in. Before me or Lizzy could ask what was going on, Dad tapped a brick on the wall opposite us three times. The brick wall vanished completely and revealed a tiny walkway filled with shops.

"This is Diagon Alley, kids." Almost instantaneously, I pulled a piece of parchment out of my pocket and looked at what Hogwarts required us to bring.

"Dad, can we get robes, first? Please?" I felt so awkward being the only person there with muggle clothes on. Everyone else wore robes. I wore jeans and a navy blue, knit sweater.

"Sure. We should go to Madam Malkin's for those."

Dad pushed through the crowd to a shop with different coloured robes being displayed in the window. He lead us into the shop and then left. He said he had other business to attend to.

"Hogwarts, dears?" the lady behind the counter asked.

"Yes." She went into a back room and came out with two measuring tapes and black robes.

"Put these on." As we slid on our robes, the measuring tapes measured the length of our legs, arms and total height. My robes were way too big, and Lizzy seemed to have the same problem. The lady checked the measuring tapes and with a wave of her wand, the robes fit perfectly.

"Thank you." Lizzy and I both said in unison.

"Oh wait," the lady said. "Come with me." We followed her through a door to come face to face with a room so unlike the other. The initial room had two or three mirrors, and it was very dark. This room was filled with beautiful gowns of every colour on racks hanging on the walls. "You'll be needing dresses this year." Our faces brightened up.

We eventually left Madam Malkin's very satisfied. I had purchased a long, simple red gown that touched the floor. It had thin straps that thickened and criss-crossed down the back. Lizzy got a really cute little midnight blue dress that came to her knees. It was fitting at the chest and then poofed out near the bottom. The poofy part had a matching midnight blue mesh over top and it was enchanted to have a subtle sparkle.

"What else do we need?" Lizzy asked, now excited to continue shopping.

"Well, Dad said he'd meet us at Ollivander's Wands... why don't we get you a wand?"

"Yay, wand!" Lizzy was so happy, she skipped all the way to Ollivander's. I already had my wand. It was eleven inches long, made of mahogany and contained a dragon heartstring.

When we reached the shop, Dad brought Lizzy inside and suggested I wait outside so I didn't take up any extra room. As I waited outside the shop, a boy passed by with a man I assumed was his father. The boy was almost six feet tall. He had wavy, dirty blonde hair, hazel eyes and a rather charming smile. He walked by me and smirked. That's when I noticed his father go into a shop alone, and the boy approached me.

"Hi." he said shyly making eye contact. He had the nicest eyes... He looked back down again and sideways shuffled closer to me.

"Hey." I greeted.

Right away he noticed something different about me. "You're not from here are you?"

"Nope." I smiled and looked him in the eye. "I just moved here from Canada."

"Really?" he asked, sounding so intrigued to be in the presence of a witch from North America. "I'm Cedric, by the way. Cedric Diggory."

"Sara Hughes. That's Sara without the 'h'." I smirked.

"Nice to meet you, Sara." He made my legs feel like jelly. "So you just moved here?"

"Yeah."

"What school are you going to?"

"Euh... Hogwarts."

"Really?" Cedric's face perked up. "What year?"

"Sixth."

"Me too."

"Nice."

"So, err... do you have any plans for the summer?" It was only still July, so it was an appropriate question.

"Well, my dad told me we've got tickets to the Quidditch Cup coming up."

"Blimey, you're joking, right?"

I chuckled. "That's what I said. We can't afford them, but my dad got them from the Ministry because he's Fudge's new assistant or something like that."

"Hughes... now I remember! My father mentioned your father transferring to London to work alongside Fudge."

"Cool." I smiled. Cedric had to stop making me smile right now, or I would lose it.

"So you like Quidditch?" he asked.

"Oh yeah. I used to be on my school's team. I was a chaser."

"Oh yeah?" He didn't say it bossily. He said it like he was genuinely interested. "I'm captain of the Hufflepuff team. I'm a seeker."

"You're a Hufflepuff? Hm, I don't know which house I'd like to be in yet."

"Oh, well Hufflepuff is good. So are Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. Really, anything but Slytherin is what you want."

"I beg to differ." a new voice said from my left side. The voice belonged to a boy slightly taller than me. He had sleek blonde hair and the most colourless eyes I'd ever seen. They were such a pale blue that it was practically grey. "I'd say Slytherin was a damn good house. Taught me well."

"Mind your own business, Malfoy." Cedric's voice was stern as he talked to the boy.

"Who's your girlfriend, Diggory?"

"Sara Hughes." I introduced myself without thinking.

"Hughes?" Malfoy sneered. "The new one working for Fudge?"

"Yeah, that would be my dad."

"My father works for Fudge as well. But there's a difference between our fathers: Fudge respects mine."

"Would you go away?" I blurted. "Cedric and I were talking nicely before you came along."

"And what are you going to do if I don't?" That's when I drew my wand. What was I thinking? You had to be seventeen to do magic outside of school. I could get expelled before I even started at Hogwarts. "Oh rubbish!" Malfoy chuckled. "You're too young to do magic!"

"Yeah she is," Cedric sneered as he pulled his wand out from his robes, "but I'm not." The closer Cedric's wand got to Malfoy's throat, the more he whimpered in panic.

"Draco!" a tall man with long white-blonde hair snapped. "Come here!" Malfoy ran clumsily towards the voice about two shops down.

"What a bloody git..." Cedric muttered under his breath.

"He does seem unpleasant." I agreed. Suddenly Cedric's father emerged from the store opposite Ollivander's.

"Well, I should get going." He said as he saw his father wave at him. "See you at Hogwarts!"

"Bye Cedric!"

As if on cue, Lizzy and Dad came out of the shop.

"So how did it go?"

"I got a cool wand!" Lizzy smiled. "It's wood and it's got a feather in it!"

Dad chuckled. "It's ten inches, made of pine and has a phoenix feather inside."

"That's what I said!" Lizzy stomped stubbornly.

"I know Liz," I smiled, "I got it."


	2. Interesting or Life Threatening?

_I hope you liked the first chapter in this story, and here comes the second!  
Disclaimer: I don't think I need to repeat that I'm not JK Rowling and I did not invent any of these characters... except Sara, Lizzy and their parents._

Chapter Two: Interesting or Life-Threatening?

"Lizzy, Sara, wake up!"

At the sound of my mother's voice, I turned over and checked my watch.

"6:00 in the morning? Are you serious?!" As soon as I swung my legs out of bed, Lizzy was already hopping on top of the sheets.

"Quidditch today! Quidditch today!" she chanted, bouncing on my bed.

"Yeah, Liz can you get out now? I have to get dressed."

"Okay, but hurry! We're going to see Quidditch today!" Lizzy took her final bounce, allowed her bottom to flop onto my bed, rolled onto the floor and ran down the stairs. I changed into a pair of fading jeans, a pale blue t-shirt and a black hoodie that read 'The Weird Sisters' in bright blue letters on the back. I also put my wristwatch on my right wrist and my brown, leather bracelet on my left. After applying a thick layer of eyeliner under my brown orbs, Mom knocked on the already open door.

"Honey, we have to get going."

"I'm ready!" I followed her down the stairs and the four of us began to walk down the street.

We had been walking for an hour when Lizzy asked, "Mommy, are we there yet?"

I chuckled and reworded her question. "We're not walking to the World Cup, are we?"

"No," Dad responded. "We're walking to the Portkey which is going to bring us to the World Cup."

"Oh thank Merlin." My legs were getting a little sore, and I wanted to be full of energy for the Quidditch game.

We'd finally reached an out of the way field when I heard Mom say, "Isn't that it there, Matthew?" She pointed a long, painted finger towards a rusty, iron rod laying casually in the middle of the field.

"That's it." he confirmed. Portkeys were designed to look like things muggles wouldn't want to touch, which usually meant it was made out of a piece of trash or something useless. Dad looked at his watch and nodded. "Okay, grab on, everybody!" The four of us reached our hand out and wrapped it around the cold, dirty piece of metal.

Suddenly I felt a strange sensation, like someone had tugged the spot behind my bellybutton. The next thing I knew, we were standing in front of an extensive bit of land that must have been holding hundreds, maybe thousands, of little tents. The space between the tents were filled with people. Loads of people. People who had come to see the game. People who organized the event. People selling fun, touristy Quidditch merchandise like hats, t-shirts and even things like enchanted action figures of each player and miniature fireworks.

As we made our way through the crowd and tried to look for our family's tent, I spotted two familiar faces. Cedric Diggory and his father. Apparently they weren't only familiar to me.

"Amos!" Dad said, catching Cedric's and his father's attention.

"Matthew!" Amos Diggory said as he and his son pushed through the crowd and came closer to talk to us. Dad and Amos began to talk, and I got the idea that it would be a very boring Ministry conversation, so I decided to talk to Cedric.

"Well, fancy seeing you here." I smiled at my new friend. Cedric smiled back, but he didn't have the time to talk, for he was interrupted by a group of witches and wizards that was coming from behind him.

"Hey Cedric, who's your girlfriend?" asked a rather tall, ginger-haired boy with bright blue eyes. A moment later, I noticed he was being followed by his twin.

Cedric chuckled. "She's not my girlfriend. Everyone, this is Sara. She moved here from Canada. Sara, this is Fred," he gestured to the boy who asked who I was; "George," Fred's twin; "Ron," a shorter, yet lankier, boy with red hair and freckles; "Ginny," a girl about Lizzy's height with long, flowing red hair; "Hermione," a girl my height with wavy brown hair and a shy smile; "and this is Harry." The last boy he gestured to had jet black, messy hair, vivid green eyes hidden behind a pair of round glasses, and a lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead. This was Harry Potter. He was the only wizard to have ever 

survived the most deadly of curses. The Dark Lord had killed his parents and when he tried to kill Harry, he was unsuccessful and had been in hiding ever since.

"Hi everyone." I said, waving at the group of them. I assumed that all of the redheads were family because they all had the same freckled faces and bright sapphire blue eyes.

That's when a wizard came up behind the group of teenagers and poked his head in. He had the same red hair as the others, only he was balding. He had a pointed hat on his head and he wore matching faded robes. "Well everyone, you can wander around a bit, but make sure you're back at the tent by 5 o'clock!" He noticed I was there, but his eyes skimmed right over me and met my father's. "Matthew Hughes!"

Dad grinned happily. "Hello, you must be..."

"Arthur Weasley." the wizard interjected. "I sent you the owl concerning your new job arrangements."

"Yes, Arthur Weasley." Dad held out a hand for him to shake. "Nice to finally meet you."

Mr. Weasley took his hand and shook with confidence. "Nice to meet you, as well."

Lizzy pulled on the side of Dad's robes, and as he looked down on her, a dawning expression revealed itself on his features. "Oh Arthur, this is my daughter Lizzy, and that's my oldest, Sara. And this is my wife, Jennifer."

I waved at him and smiled shyly. "Hello."

"Nice to meet you all." he said, shaking our hands.

Dad decided to take the time to talk to Mr. Diggory and Mr. Weasley, so all of the Hogwarts students, including Lizzy and I, talked to each other.

"Sara, so you're going to Hogwarts?" Hermione asked me, while the boys talked with Ginny about who they thought would win that days game.

"Yeah. I can't wait." I admitted. "My old school was an all-witches school, and everyone was really strict."

"Well Hogwarts is really fun. Something interesting happens every year."

"Yeah, interesting Hermione." Ron chuckled. "Interesting or life-threatening?"

Hermione chuckled. "He's over exaggerating. But yeah, it's pretty mad."

"Great, I've always wanted an adventure."

"Have you thought about houses yet?" she asked.

"A little..." I nodded my head subtly. "I still have no idea which house I'd like to be in."

"Well, the Sorting Hat chooses for you. But it always helps if you know where you'd like to be placed."

"What house are you in?"

"Harry and I are in Gryffindor, as are all of the Weasleys." She motioned to the redheaded family.

"Wow."

"I wouldn't have minded being placed in Ravenclaw either. Whatever you prefer. But if you said you like a good adventure, you'd probably do well in Gryffindor."

"Hey Sara, Lizzy," Fred said, catching our attention. I could tell it was Fred because he had slightly longer hair than George's, and there was something about his eyes as well... "Where are your seats for the game?"

"Right next to yours and the Diggorys." Dad answered for me.

"Really?" George smiled.

"In that case, do you want to stay with us today?" asked Fred.

"It'll be loads of fun." George said.

"Well, do you want to?" They said in unison.

"Please Dad?" I asked. I think it came out more as a beg. I finally made friends and they wanted me to spend the day with them.

"Yeah sure." He agreed and my stomach did a somersault. "If it's okay with your mother..." She nodded. "But I'd prefer if Lizzy stayed with us. Is that okay, Liz?"

"Fine Daddy."

"Thanks Mr. Hughes!" The twins chorused. It really freaked me out when they said things at the same time like that.

"What are we going to do, then?" Harry asked the group. I tried not to stare at him. I knew how awful that must be for him to put up with people gawking at him all the time, but I just couldn't believe a fourteen year old wizard like him survived Lord Vold... I mean You-Know-Who's curse.

"Do you want to hang out in the tent for a bit?" Ginny suggested. "I mean, our parents are probably going to be talking for a while.

"Yeah sure."

"Okay."

To the naked eye, the tents looked very miniscule and they seemed like they could only hold one person. But as we all stepped inside, it was practically as big as the ground floor of our house. It was enormous! There was a dining table, at least ten bunks, and two or three sofas scattered throughout so we could sit. I found myself sitting next to Cedric on a sofa; Fred and George pulled up the chairs from the dining table; and Ginny and Hermione took the other sofa; and Ron and Harry ended up sitting on the floor.

"So Sara, who are you rooting for to win the Quidditch Cup tonight? Ireland or Bulgaria?" Ron asked, looking up at me.

"Well, I hope the Irish are going to win..." Before I could finish, everyone else cheered. "Yeah. But Bulgaria has Viktor Krum, who's like, the best seeker in the world."

"Bloody well agree with you there, mate." George smirked. "Krum is brilliant."

"Brilliant?" Ron said, as if it wasn't the right word to use. "Krum is a _God!_"

"I think you're in love, Ron." Ginny smirked, making her voice very breathy. This comment made everyone in the tent start to chuckle.

"So Cedric," Fred began. Cedric turned his head to look at the one waiting for his attention. "How is it that you met Sara here, before anyone else?"

"We met in Diagon Alley a few weeks ago, actually." He said matter-of-factly. "I didn't realize our fathers worked together until we started talking. Kind of funny, isn't it?" He turned back to me and I nodded and giggled along with him.

"Cedric!" Everyone looked in the direction of the tent's opening where Mr. Diggory was poking his head in. "Come on, we have to get going." Cedric sighed and followed his father out of the tent. Before he left, he faced everyone and waved.

"Bye. See you at the game, everyone." And with that, he was gone.

After Cedric had left, everyone else seemed to filter out of the tent as well. Hermione, Ron and Harry had left soon after to wander the park and Ginny departed us to see what Lizzy was up to. This left me alone with the twins.

"Finally." I heard an exasperated sigh of relief come from George.

"I know, George, I never thought they'd leave." What were they talking about?

"Um," My curiosity tended to get the best of me. "What?"

Fred stuck his head out of the tent to make sure no one was around, and then nodded. "We've been hearing our dad talking with a bunch of people from the Ministry about something really big coming to Hogwarts this year." He took a seat on the sofa next to me, and George moved from his own chair onto my other side.

My heart jumped into my throat. "Something big? Like what?"

"Well we don't know." George sighed.

"Only Mum and Dad."

"And our older brothers, Percy, Charlie and Bill."

"What about Ron and Ginny and..." But I was cut off by Fred.

"We don't think any of them know a thing yet."

"But... I mean..." I stammered. "When you say 'big'..."

"It must be something extremely important."

"Because the last few years, some mad things have happened."

"Like the time a mountain troll broke in."

"And a professor tried stealing the Philosopher's Stone from Dumbledore."

"Or when they almost closed Hogwarts because a dirty, great Basilisk was going around the school petrifying people."

"And then mass murderer, Sirius Black, broke out of Azkaban and tried to kill Harry."

With each thing they added to the list, my heart pounded harder and faster. "So um, are there any chances that something good is going to happen?"

Fred chuckled. " We haven't really been in any direct danger before. As long as Dumbledore is in Hogwarts, we'll be safe."

"Dad always seemed happy when he mentions this thing... It's probably nothing to worry about."

"I'm not so sure I want to go to Hogwarts anymore." I joked, running my fingers through my long, dark hair. That's when something hit me. "Why are you two telling me this and not the others?"

"Because you're cool." Fred grinned.

"And you're going into sixth year as well, are you not?"

"Well yeah, but..."

"We're going to be spending quite a lot of time together, best start now."

"How do you know that, George?"

"You're going to be a Gryffindor."

"... I repeat my question. How do you know that?"

George chuckled. "It's a quality that's easily spotted."

"Alright."

"Besides," Fred spoke up, "do you not want to be our friend?"

"Of course I do!"

"Then why are you complaining?" Fred smirked.

The three of us had spent the day walking around the grounds and discussing anything that came to mind. And with Fred and George with me, there were a lot of fun topics. But it was time to meet up with everyone else and go see the Quidditch game and I was absolutely ecstatic. Fred and George ran back to the Weasley tent, Fred dragging me by my hand the whole way, only to find that we were the last ones to arrive.

"Come on, you three!" Mr. Weasley said, sounding a little frustrated. We couldn't have been that late... He led all seven of us to the Quidditch stadium, and I don't think I was the only one to gasp at the sight of it. There were seats from the ground all the way up to the top of the fifty-foot golden hoops. Maybe even higher. The lights illuminating the stadium were extraordinarily bright, and I couldn't wait to see where we were sitting. Mr. Weasley led us up the stairs to where we would be seated.

"Whoa Dad," Ron gaped. "How far up are we going?"

"Well, let's just say that if it rains, you'll be the first ones to know." We all surveyed the floor below us to find that the person who spoke was none other than Malfoy's father. I recognized him immediately from his long, white-blonde hair and sleek black cane in one hand. As we all caught a glimpse of the man, he sneered. "Hello Weasleys."

"Malfoy." Mr. Weasley nodded, obviously only to be polite. His politeness was lost in his gritted teeth and squinted eyes.

"Hughes." The Malfoy son acknowledged me with a nod. "Didn't expect to see you here."

"I rather hoped I wouldn't be seeing you anywhere." I said moodily.

"I especially didn't expect to see you strutting around with Saint Potter, Mudblood Granger, and the most disgraceful family to wizards everywhere, the Weasleys."

I assumed the Mudblood comment was directed at Hermione, because when he said that, she glared daggers at him. "Well they're much better company than you are." Malfoy just stared at me and then left along with his father to find their seats. I rolled my eyes and continued walking up the staircases ahead of us.

"How does Draco Malfoy know you?" Ron asked me, his anger escaping every feature in his face.

"He was at Diagon Alley that day."

"Forget about him," Hermione said. "He just wants to get a rise out of everyone. Just forget him."

I did forget about him. Quite easily, as a matter of fact. It didn't take too long for the game to begin and everyone's insane cheering to fill the stadium. The game was well underway and Fred, George and I were on the edge of our seats, yelling things at the players. It couldn't have been more than a hour in when Krum noticed a flicker of gold and dived down towards the bottom of the arena. The Irish seeker was right on his tail. Just before he crashed, Krum pulled up and flew back into the air again, but this didn't give much time for the other seeker to follow. The Irish seeker flew straight into the ground.

"Bloody brilliant!" George called out. He turned to me and shouted, "Krum is the master of the Wronski Feint!" I figured that was the name of the move he just pulled.

Not soon after, Krum went into a dive again. He sped down towards the ground, stretched out his arm and held it up in the air. He punched his newly formed fist in the wind as he showed that he had caught the snitch. Krum had caught the snitch alright, but even with Bulgaria's recently earned one hundred and fifty points, Ireland was still in the lead. The Irish had won the Quidditch World Cup!

"That was amazing!" Harry laughed as we all sat in the Weasley tent, once more.

"Damn straight it was!" I grinned just thinking about it, then pretended to be flying around the tent on a broomstick. Of course, it only looked like I was running around with my arms out in front of me, but I was too excited to care how stupid I looked.

There were loud noises coming from outside, but no one was surprised. It was probably just the Irish supporters celebrating. That's what everyone else thought too, until Mr. Weasley came running frantically into the tent. His hat was askew and he was panting like mad.

"Everyone, we have to get out of here. Now." He managed to get out.

"But why..."

"There's no time for questions. Harry, Ron, Hermione, get back to the Portkey; Fred, George, Ginny is your responsibility. Sara, go with Fred and George. Everyone stick together!" No one took the time to ask any more questions. Harry, Ron and Hermione ran out of the tent together and made a hard left. George grabbed Ginny by the hand, as Fred intertwined our fingers and they pulled us out of the tent as well. As we exited the sanctuary of the tent, I noticed lots of people in black cloaks with pointed hoods and masks on that covered their faces. There was fire everywhere and not one person in sight was calm.

The four of us ran as fast as we could towards the clearing where everyone had left their Portkeys. A few times, I'd almost got knocked off my feet from someone running straight into me, but luckily I didn't slow down the group. My heart was pounding ferociously, I could feel my chest thumping as we ran. I was getting exhausted, but I knew we couldn't stop. We had to get back to the Weasleys. Fred, George, Ginny and I had finally reached their Portkey, which seemed to be a dirty old boot, but as soon as I saw it, I could only think of one thing. Where were my parents, Lizzy and Cedric? Were they okay? One of my questions were answered when I saw Cedric and his father running towards us.

"The Portkey, kids! The Portkey!" Mr. Diggory screamed. All of us grabbed onto the boot and I felt that bellybutton sensation again as I lurched forward and fell onto a patch of grass. The wet dew was cold on my face, but I tried not to think about it.

"Is everyone alright?" Mr. Diggory asked. He didn't get one verbal response, but we all nodded our heads in shock.

The night was dark, but we all stuck together. Fred never let go of my hand the entire time as Mr. Diggory led Cedric, Ginny, Fred, George and I to safety. That's when I noticed that Harry, Hermione, Ron and Mr. Weasley were not with us. Where could they have gone to?

"Lumos!" A light appeared at the end of Mr. Diggory's wand, making it easier for us all to see. What seemed like an extremely long walk later, I noticed a very tall house just in front of us. The windows were all lit, and I noticed a door being opened. A plump, red-haired woman came out and began running as fast as she could towards the group. She spotted Ginny and gave her a tight and protective hug.

"Ginny, dear. Thank Merlin you're okay!" Then she moved over to Fred and George and wrapped them tightly in her arms. "I was so worried!"

"We're okay, Mum."

"Thank you so much, Amos, for bringing them home." Mrs. Weasley smiled warmly. She paused when she noticed that someone was with her family and the Diggorys that she didn't recognize. "Hello dear, who might you be?"

"I'm Sara Hughes."

"Oh, you're Matthew's daughter. Yes, I remember. Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

"Good, good." Mrs. Weasley examined the group and furrowed her brow. "Where are Ron, Harry and Hermione? And Arthur?"

There was an uncomfortable silence before Mr. Diggory cleared his throat and said, "Er, Molly... I don't know."

Before Mrs. Weasley began to panic, Fred spoke up. "He came and told everyone to get to the Portkey. So we all left the tent... But the three of them didn't show up. Dad probably had to help stop the riots."

"I don't know where..." As I was about to tell Mrs. Weasley that I had no idea where they could have gone, we saw a bunch of four wizards coming towards us. Sure enough, it was Harry, Ron, Hermione and Mr. Weasley.

"Sorry about that, dear." Mr. Weasley said, hugging his wife and giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Just a bit of troubles with the Death Eaters." I easily remembered the words he spoke. Death Eaters were followers of You-Know-Who. They were the ones at the Quidditch Cup? Why were they there?

Mrs. Weasley barely paid any attention to her husband. She immediately ran over to her son and his best friends and captured them in her warm embrace. "Are you three alright?"

"Yes Mum," Ron choked. "We're okay."

"Well, now that we know everyone's alright, Cedric and I should get going."

"Alright, Amos. See you."

"Bye Arthur." With a loud snap, Mr. Diggory had disapparated out of sight.

Previous to disapparating along with his father, Cedric reached over and wrapped his arms around me. "See you at school, Sara."

"See you, Cedric." I said, hugging him tightly back. He took a step back and with another snap, he was gone.

"Now that we're all safe, why don't we go inside?" Mrs. Weasley smiled and issued to the front door that she had carelessly left open in her state of relief.

Although I was happy to be with friends, I was still feeling nothing but numbness. "Um, are we sure everyone is safe?" I asked no one in particular. I felt every single eye on me as I continued. "It's just... I don't know what happened to my family."


	3. We Tend to Cause Trouble

Chapter Three: We Tend to Cause Trouble

"Don't worry, Sara." Harry said, attempting to comfort me. It had only been a day since the night of the Quidditch World Cup, and I still hadn't heard a thing from my parents yet. "They'll probably be alright."

"Yeah, don't worry about it." agreed Hermione. "Does your family have an owl?"

My eyes widened. "Yeah, I do!" The image of my grey owl, Chuck, materialized in my mind. Why hadn't they sent him?

"Well, erm..." Ron sighed. "Maybe they didn't go straight home?"

I thought about it for a second. Maybe fleeting off to a town full of muggles wasn't smart to do. Maybe Dad stayed back to help out with something. "That is a possibility." Ron looked very pleased that he had come up with a viable idea.

There was a knock at Ron's bedroom door and laughter could be heard through the wood panel. It sounded like Fred and George. Sure enough, when Ron opened the door, the twins were seen chuckling and smiling. George was holding an envelope in one hand and in Fred's left hand was...

"CHUCK!" I jumped off the bed and ran to the door. "When did you get here?" I asked my owl. I knew he couldn't respond, but Fred did for him.

"Just a few minutes ago. He was tapping on the kitchen window, so we let him in."

"Great, thank you."

George handed me the letter and I was going to read it there, but he said, "Do you need some extra parchment so you can write back?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, come to our room, then."

I followed Fred and George down a few steps to another door. They opened it up to reveal quite a neat room with two beds and a desk. On the desk lay a quill and a piece of parchment.

"Thanks guys." I said, taking a seat at the desk. They both sat on the bed closest to me as I read the letter. Chuck was still firmly gripped onto Fred's arm.

_Dear Sara,_

_Are you alright? The other night was crazy, so we grabbed Lizzy and took the Portkey back home. We tried looking for you, but the Weasleys' tent had been abandoned already, and you were no where in sight, so we figured you'd gone with them. I hope this reaches you. _

_Oh, if you'd like, you can stay with the Weasleys until school starts. Your father and I will meet you at the train station to bring you your trunk for school. Lizzy misses you a lot._

_Hope you're well._

_-Mom_

"What does it say?" Fred asked.

"Is everything alright?" George added.

"Yeah, everything's fine. They said I could stay with you until school started. Is it okay?"

"Yeah, should be fine with Mum." Fred said, failing to hide his happiness.

"Okay, let me write back." I picked up a quill and began my short note back to Mom.

_Mom,_

_I'm fine. Mr. Weasley made sure everyone was safe at The Burrow, here. I'm just glad to be hearing from you. I was worried something bad had happened. Thanks for letting me stay with the Weasleys, I really appreciate it. Tell Liz I miss her too, and I'll see her at King's Cross on September first._

_Love you,_

_-Sara_

The time until September first flew by. Fred, George and I had spent every moment together. I would say we spent every waking moment together, but I ended up sleeping in their room, as well. No funny business went on. There just wasn't any room elsewhere. So the three of us had already become close friends. Harry, Ron and Hermione seemed to spend a lot of time together on their own, so I didn't get to see them much. Only during meals and at night time. But this was the most nerve-racking day of my life; I'd have to meet so many new people, and try to find my way around the school... Being as shy as I was, this wasn't going to be easy.

Before I knew it, we were at King's Cross Station, and I was practically shaking.

"Here, honey." Dad said, handing the trolley over to me. On the trolley was my trunk with everything I needed in it, and Chuck's cage sat on top. "Have fun."

"Be safe!" My mother added.

"Take care of Lizzy for us."

"Write every so often..."

I chuckled. "I'll be fine."

Lizzy and I steered our trolleys over to where the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione seemed to be waiting for something.

"Okay everyone, go one at a time, now." Mrs. Weasley directed. One at a time? Where? I soon found out. Ron went first. He stared at the solid brick wall between platforms nine and ten, and ran straight at it. Next thing I knew, he had vanished. Hermione went next, then Harry and then Ginny. "George, Fred, you next."

"Let Sara and Lizzy go first." Fred suggested.

"Yeah, we'll meet you on the other side." George said with a wink.

"Okay." I agreed. Then I bent down a bit and looked Lizzy in the eyes. "I'll go first. Then you can follow me. I'll be waiting for you." She nodded and I stood straight again. I took a deep breath and walked calmly towards the wall. As it came closer, I began to pick up my pace. I was squinting my eyes shut, preparing for a collision, but it never came. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself standing in front of a bright red steam engine. I grinned and walked out of the way so the next person wouldn't run into me. Within seconds, Lizzy was by my side again, but I didn't feel complete until Fred and George were there as well.

"Everyone made it alive?" Fred joked. "Okay, let's get on the train and try to find a compartment."

I heaved my trunk onto the train and was all too relieved to find an empty compartment without having to go too far. With some help from Fred, I got my trunk stored in the shelf above my seat.

"George, can you..." But I retreated my question when I saw he was already helping Liz with her trunk. "Thanks."

We each took turns going to the washroom to change into our robes for Hogwarts. When all four of us were finally sitting and relaxed, we talked about the only thing on my mind.

"So what can you tell me about Hogwarts?"

"Well," George began, "we've never had a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher stay with us for more than a year. Some say it's a cursed position."

"Is there anything to look forward to at this school?" I chuckled. "Nothing you tell me is good."

"Oh, it's brilliant." Fred reassured me. "Great teachers. Great friends. Great Quidditch teams."

"Quidditch, eh?" Lizzy smiled. She couldn't wait to get to school so she could join a team. She'd come to every one of my games at my old school.

"Yeah," Fred nodded. "But first years aren't allowed to play." Her hurt was easily readable from the look on her face. "Sorry, Lizzy."

I tried to change the subject. "You two play?"

"Of course." George grinned.

"Gryffindor beaters."

"Of course." I chuckled. "Why did I expect anything else?"

"What about teachers?" Lizzy asked. "What are they like?"

"Well, there's McGonagall. She's the Gryffindor Head and Transfiguration teacher. She's really strict, but also really nice. She doesn't favour anyone." Fred explained.

"And there's the Hufflepuff Head, Sprout. She's the Herbology teacher. Also, really nice. Very good teacher as well. I think I got an E in her class last year." Wizarding schools marked differently than muggle schools; there was O for 'outstanding', then E for 'exceeds expectations', then A for 'acceptable'. You knew you were failing if you got a P for 'poor' or D for 'dreadful'.

"Good job, George." I smiled.

"There's the Ravenclaw Head, Flitwick. Tiny, old wizard, he is, but nonetheless, he's a great charms teacher."

"Then there's teachers like Snape."

"Greasy old prat." Fred muttered under his breath.

George laughed at Fred's remark. "Yeah, he's not very pleasant. You can guess he's the Head of Slytherin."

"But I must admit, he's a pretty amazing potions teacher."

"Yeah, but it's hard to do anything when he's breathing down your neck and taking house points away from you for no reason."

"House points?" I asked. "What are those?"

"You earn points for your house if you do something well, and you get punished by getting points taken away. Whichever house has the most points by the end of the year is awarded the house cup." George explained. "The last three years, Gryffindor has won it." He added proudly puffing out his chest.

"No thanks to us." Fred admitted with a chuckle. "We tend to... cause trouble." They both laughed, and Fred winked at me. Lizzy and I laughed along with them.

It couldn't have been much later when we got a visit from two more Weasleys. Ron and Ginny knocked carefully on the compartment door and slid it open.

"Hi." Ginny said, looking first at her brothers, then at Lizzy, then me.

"Hey," Fred smirked. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Just came to see how you guys were doing." Ron shrugged.

I glanced at Lizzy, next to me and she was just staring at her lap. Her cheeks were turning a tinge of pink.

"Lizzy, do you want to come sit with me and my friends?" Ginny invited, wondering why Lizzy's eyes were on the floor.

"Yeah sure." As Lizzy stood up, she tried to inch passed Ron so she could follow Ginny, but she accidentally bumped into his side. "Oh, sorry Ron." She only blushed even more and ran down the train to where Ginny's compartment was waiting.

"What's wrong with her?" Ron asked, making a face like he'd just tried taking a bite out of a lemon.

I only chuckled. "Seems like someone's got a crush."

Ron's eyes widened. "Oh no."

"Oh yes. I've been her sister for eleven years, I should know."

"Great." He smiled sarcastically and went back to his own compartment.

When we had the compartment to ourselves again, George pulled something out of his pocket. It seemed to be a piece of candy still in its wrapping. "Want it?" he asked.

"No thanks." I smiled. "I know better than to take candy from strangers."

"You're a smart one." Fred snickered. "Most people just take the candy, and we laugh as they watch their tongue swell up and turn wonky colours."

"Where did you get that?" I laughed.

"We made it." George seemed very pleased with their creation.

"You made it?"

"Oh yeah, we make loads of trickery goods."

"Hope to open up a joke shop one day."

"Really? That's awesome!" I said, surprised that they already knew what they wanted to do when they got out of school.

"Yeah. We're just trying to make some money by selling these things to students." Fred described.

Without any warning, the train came to a stop.

"We're here." They both said together.

"Just leave your trunk, they'll bring it up." George said, as he saw me reaching for my trunk.

"Okay." I followed them off the train to see a very large man, about ten feet tall and fairly wide, with an untamed beard and head of hair. "Who is that?" I asked, my mouth hanging open in awe. I figured this wouldn't be the only time I would be amazed today.

"Don't worry, that's only Hagrid, the Care of Magical Creatures teacher."

"Firs' years, this way! Firs' years, over here!" He called, holding up an oil lantern. I noticed Lizzy approaching the man carefully, a look of fear spread across her face.

"Here, this way." I tagged along after Fred and George until we came to a line of horseless carriages. We got into one with Ginny, and it hoisted us to the top of a dark hill. At the top of the hill was the most amazing sight I'd ever seen. The castle of Hogwarts was absolutely beautiful.

"Wow." I gasped. The four of us climbed out of the carriage and approached the front doors along with all of the other returning students of Hogwarts.

That's when quite an old witch wearing emerald green robes, a tall pointed hat, and thin rectangular glasses advanced toward me.

"Excuse me, are you Sara Hughes?"

"Y-Yes." I stuttered.

"Sorry, Weasleys." She said to Fred, George and Ginny. "But I'm going to have to take Miss Hughes away from you for a moment. She needs to join us for the Sorting Ceremony."


	4. Because We're Zany

Chapter Four: Because We're Zany

It felt weird to be leaving Fred and George, but apparently I had to be in some sort of ceremony. I didn't think they'd sort the students in front of everyone... Wouldn't that be a little too much pressure on them? I was asking myself so many questions that I didn't even fully appreciate just how beautiful the entrance hall was. It could have fit my whole house in it. I took notice that everyone seemed to be flooding into a Hall to my right, but the witch had led me into a little room next to that one.

"Just stay in here with the first years." She instructed. "I will be back to tell you all when to come out." I had to stifle a laugh. If I didn't know better, it would have sounded like she was trying to make us stay in a broom closet for the rest of the night. ...Wait, us? I scanned the small room to see all of the first year students standing before me. I seemed to tower over most of them, except one other seemed to be taller than the rest.

"Lizzy!" I grinned and ran over to her.

"Sara!" She smiled.

"Excited to get sorted?" I asked, hoping she may have some insight on which house was best.

"Well, not really." She confessed. "I'm confused on where I want to go." Great, that makes two of us.

Just then, the old witch came back. "Okay everyone, get into single file and follow me." And we did. We followed her back into the entrance hall and then U-turned back around so we were now going into the Hall with the rest of the students. There were four long tables down the length of the hall and one shorter one near the end. The shorter, Head Table was filled with teachers, while the other four were overflowing with students. Each table seemed to have a prominent colour projecting from their uniform crests and ties; blue, red, green and yellow. The ceiling seemed to be enchanted to look like the sky outside, but I only realized this because it was raining heavily outside and the ceiling reflected that misery.

As the mob of new students reached the head table, the old witch placed a four-legged stool in front of it, and set a very battered-looking wizards hat on top.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, newcomers." She smiled down on us through her spectacles. "My name is Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts. This is the Sorting Ceremony. When I read your name from the list, you will take a seat," she gestured to the stool, "I will place the Sorting Hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your houses. Your house will be like your family, so be sure you make your house proud to have you." Oh yeah, no pressure there. She unrolled the piece of parchment she had clutched in her fist, and read the first name. A small boy ran up to the stool eagerly and jammed the hat on his head.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted. The boy ran off to the table of mostly yellow, and students welcomed him to their house.

I bounced uncomfortably on the balls of my feet, waiting for my name to be called. I tried not to think about how much I stuck out from the group like a sore thumb.

"Hughes, Elizabeth." I perked up at the name Hughes and looked around for my sister. She stumbled up to the stool, lifted herself up and sighed. I noticed her give an uneasy smile as the hat slid over her eyes.

A minute or two later, the hat called out, "GRYFFINDOR!". I smiled at her as she ran towards the protruding red table, beaming. Lizzy sat next to Ginny, who gave her a tight hug. Since McGonagall was going alphabetically by surname, I assumed I was next. But I was wrong, she continued on with the next person. Did they have to make me feel like a loner and make me go last? Well, yes. Apparently it was necessary to make my first day outstanding. No, I don't mean that in the most positive of senses.

"Now everyone," McGonagall caught the attention of the daydreamers and those who had drifted off during the lengthy ceremony. "Miss Sara Hughes joins us from Canada, and she is starting her sixth year of Hogwarts, but she is yet to be assigned a house. So, Miss Hughes, if you will." I sauntered up to the stool. Most of the new students had to jump to get on. I just slid onto the stool and allowed her to put the hat on my head. The hat, which, might I add, did not slide down over my eyes. It sat perfectly on the top of my head. The first thing I saw when I sat on the stool was Cedric's gleaming smile as he 

watched me in my most awkward moment of my life. Great. Without warning, I heard a small voice in my ear.

"Here we are..." It said. "Loyalty, yes. Lots of loyalty. But intelligence, too. An ambitious mind-set, and a thirst for adventure... This is a difficult decision. I think I'm going to have to say... GRYFFINDOR!" The hat bellowed its last word for the whole hall to hear, and everyone cheered. As McGonagall lifted the hat from my head, I picked out Fred and George from the table of red. They were whistling as I ran over to the table and sat between them.

"Congratulations, mate." George said, clapping me on the back. I turned to my left to see Fred, and he only winked. I only had a moment before I had to turn back to the right again, because Professor Dumbledore stood to begin his speech.

Dumbledore was quite a tall wizard, with long white hair and a matching beard. He had bright blue eyes that hid behind half-moon glasses and he wore flowing deep purple robes.

"Welcome back, everyone, to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There have been a few changes to this year's agenda that everyone must now take into account." A murmur swept through the hall. Was this the huge thing that Fred and George were telling me about? I would soon find out. "First of all, we have a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher this year... Everyone give a warm welcome to Professor Alastor Moody!" That's when the giant doors to the hall burst open and a man began to walk up to his place at the head table. With every second step, he made a loud clunking sound, so I looked down at his feet to see that one of his legs was made of wood. This wasn't his only feature that made him such a terrifying wizard. Moody had a chunk taken out of his nose, and deep scars covered his face; but the most chilling characteristic about Professor Alastor Moody was his eye. One of them was a nice, warming shade of brown, but the other was abnormally large, and it was electric blue. It seemed to swivel in its socket independently as it led Moody up to the table, and he sat without a word. The hall was silent. No one wanted to clap for their new teacher, and no one was about to.

Dumbledore glanced around the hall happily at our disturbed faces and continued on with his speech. "Also, I am sorry to announce that there will be no Quidditch this year." The disappointment could be heard from every student as they groaned at Dumbledore's statement. The Headmaster seemed to ignore his students as he went on. "This is because Hogwarts is proud to be host to a very special event this year." Here it was. The very big thing that no one knew about. I found my knees to be shaking as my legs bounced up and down nervously, and I noticed Fred and George's faces light up anxiously awaiting the news. "Hogwarts is going to host the Triwizard Tournament."

"YOU'RE JOKING!" Fred interrupted loudly. After his outburst, the whole student body began loudly discussing their amazement of Hogwarts holding such a tournament.

"The Triwizard... Blimey, I can't believe it..." George said. A look of awe sketched across his face.

"The what?" Harry asked. "What's the Triwizard Tournament?"

But before I could explain to him what the Triwizard Tournament was, Dumbledore explained it to the rest of the school. "For those who don't know, the Triwizard Tournament is a Tournament designed to test the strength of a witch or wizard against wizards from other schools. The three schools that compete in this Tournament are Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. One Champion is chosen from each school to compete in three dangerous tasks. The Champion who wins not only receives the Triwizard Cup, but wins one thousand galleons and brings honour upon their school." Dumbledore paused before stating his next thought. "But I must enforce the rules to this Tournament as made by the Ministry, so I must say that in order to enter your name for a chance to become the Hogwarts Champion, you must be above the age of seventeen."

"What a load of rubbish!" Fred said angrily. "We turn seventeen in April!"

"So do I." I added meekly. "But the tasks sound really dangerous..."

Dumbledore ignored the school-wide groan and continued. "So seeing as you have all had to endure my ramblings, I think now would be the appropriate time to be starting dinner."

As soon as he finished speaking Dumbledore raised his hands and the empty plates on the table in front of me filled with lots of delicious-looking food. It wasn't until I saw the food did I realize exactly how hungry I was. I piled up my plate with anything I could get my hands on, and Fred noticed this.

"Hungry, are you?"

I swallowed a mouthful of mashed potatoes and smiled. "Shut up."

"So," George began, "I can't believe we're only a few months short of being able to enter into the Tournament."

"I know!" Fred leaned back so he and his brother could rant about the rules of the Triwizard Tournament around me. I allowed the twins to complain on their own and began a conversation with the friends sitting across from me.

"What do you three think about the Tournament?" I asked not one person in particular.

It was Hermione that responded. "I can't believe they'd hold something like that at Hogwarts... I mean, people have died in the Triwizard Tournament… It can't be safe."

"Yeah, but it'll be loads of fun to watch!" Ron grinned, then took a bite of the chicken leg clutched in his hand.

"Oh, Ronald..." Hermione sighed and returned to her own meal. Harry was on Ron's other side and he was talking to a slightly round-faced boy with flat dark hair.

"Congratulations on making Gryffindor." said Harry as he noticed I was looking in his direction.

"Thanks." I smiled weakly.

"I figured you'd get in." Harry admitted, as the other boy prodded his arm. "Oh right, um, Sara, this is Neville. Neville, this is Sara."

"Nice to meet you." Neville nodded towards me timidly as I greeted him.

"Hullo." said Neville.

"Hey Sara," Fred said, grabbing my shoulder to get my attention. "You said you were turning seventeen in April, too?"

"Yeah, why?"

"What day?" George asked.

"The twenty-fourth, you?"

"April first." They said in unison, wide grins spread across their faces.

"April Fool's Day." I chuckled as I recognized the date. "Why does that not surprise me?"

"Because we're zany." George crossed his eyes as Fred made the comment. I couldn't respond through my extreme giggle fit.

The meal could not have finished at a more perfect time. I had eaten much more than I'd intended and even Fred and George were getting too tired to joke anymore.

"Well, now would be the time for the Prefects to lead the first years to their common rooms." Dumbledore stood up to give out his instructions. Right away, the Prefects got up from their house tables and began to collect mobs of first years. Harry, Hermione and Ron had already left the table and inconspicuously left the hall and Neville left with a sandy-haired boy whose name I had yet to learn. Fred and George picked themselves up and led me to Gryffindor tower. We seemed to trudge up more than ten flights of stairs before I asked,

"Where are we?"

"Only a little further, I promise." Fred said through a yawn, not taking his eyes off of his shoes. He had kept his promise. Shortly after I had asked my question, we approached a portrait of quite a large lady wearing a satin pink dress halfway down the corridor.

"Password?" The Fat Lady said in a demanding tone.

A knot formed in my stomach. Did we have the password? George answered my private question when he clearly stated, "Balderdash." The portrait swung open and I marched in the hole it exposed after George. Fred brought up the rear. Once we'd cleared through the hole, it opened up to reveal a pleasant room filled with cushy red armchairs, sofas and a large fireplace. There were spiralling staircases that lead upwards. I assumed they lead to the dormitories. It wasn't until Fred and George crashed down on one of the sofas in front of the fire that I realized the Gryffindor banner hung from one wall and there were a few other students strewn around the room.

"This place is so much nicer than my old school." My mouth hung open in awe unnoticeably as I wandered around the room.

Fred chuckled. "Yeah?"

"Hogwarts is pretty amazing." George agreed.

I sat next to Fred on the sofa the twins had decided to rest on. We'd been sitting for no more than thirty second before I yawned considerably loudly. Fred rest his hand on my shoulder that was closest to him. "Sara, you should get to sleep. You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow." With a subtle wink, he helped me up and directed me to the staircase that led to the girls' dormitories. "See you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Fred."

"Goodnight, Sara."

I walked up the stairs until I saw the door that read "6th Year Gryffindor Girls" and found it already ajar. I nudged it open to find another girl already sitting in her bed, reading one of my favourite books. Her hair was shorter than mine, it was only shoulder-length and it was a darker shade of blonde. Her eyes were catlike as they drifted from one side of the page to the other, but because they were focused on the book I couldn't see their colour. She had to be a few inches taller than I was but probably the same weight.

"'Quidditch Through the Ages'?" I exclaimed suddenly.

The girl looked up from the book. "Yeah."

"I read that in my first year."

"Really? Me too." She smiled, put in a bookmark to save her page, and set the book on her bedside table. "This is my fourth time reading it." I noticed her eyes were a really pretty pale green colour while she looked up at me. As I approached her bed, she noticed my current uniform tie only had a Hogwarts logo on it and wasn't the red and gold diagonal striped tie of the Gryffindor uniform. That's when it clicked. "Oh, you must be Sara Hughes. Right?"

"Yeah." I'm surprised she didn't know it was me from my lack of accent.

"You just got sorted, so I was wondering about the tie. Usually only first years have those." There was a fleeting silence before the girl said, "My name is Katie, Katie Bell."

I nodded towards her and then looked around the room at the other four-poster beds. At the foot of one bed, I easily recognized my school trunk because my initials were printed on top in large cursive writing. On my own bedside table was my new Gryffindor uniform. A warm, fuzzy feeling crept its way through my body and I shivered. This was it. My first day of Hogwarts would come in just a few hours and I had to be ready.

"See you in the morning." said Katie. She climbed under her covers and put out the candle she was using to read.

"Goodnight."

I'd changed into my nightdress and gotten into bed in hopes of getting a good night's sleep. Boy, was I wrong. Before I fell asleep, I'd changed my position at least thirteen times, and I'd seen the other girls come up to bed and easily fall asleep. I ended up thinking a whole lot about what my professors would be like that I eventually fell into a blissful slumber.


	5. It's Not a Love Letter

Chapter Five: It's Not a Love Letter

I had awakened the next morning with an unexplainable headache and too much excitement for my heart to handle. As I sat myself upright, I noticed I was the only girl left in the room. The other three beds were empty. Within twenty minutes, I brushed my long, chestnut hair, changed into my robes that were now complete with the Gryffindor crest and red and gold striped tie, brushed my teeth, and left the dormitory. Upon descending the spiral staircase, I observed the Weasley twins sitting on one of the red sofas in the empty common room. They saw me emerge from the stairs and jumped up immediately.

"Where have you been?" George asked, grabbing me by the arm and dragging me towards the portrait hole.

"Well, I was..." But before I could finish, Fred interrupted me.

"We were waiting for you to go to breakfast!"

"Wouldn't be surprised if the whole school was finished eating by now."

"And we get our schedules this morning!"

"Okay you guys, okay, I'm sorry! I slept in!" By this point, the twins had pulled me out of the common room and we were running down the corridor. They must have been real hungry, and a surge of guilt spread through me. Our long hair flew out behind us as all three of our black dress shoes slid across the stone floor of the Entrance Hall and turned into the Great Hall. Everyone was still eating, as I had expected, but as we entered the Great Hall, I noticed McGonagall walking up and down the Gryffindor table, handing out pieces of parchment to each student.

"Right on time." Fred smiled and took a seat next to Lizzy.

"Ah, there you are Miss Hughes." McGonagall's voice came from above me. I looked up as she handed Fred, George and I an identical-looking piece of parchment. We inspected our new schedules together and she proceeded to explain. "Professor Dumbledore and I have decided to place you three in all the same classes so that Miss Hughes can adapt to the castle faster."

"Thank you, professor." I squeaked and looked over my schedule.

"Herbology, Charms, Transfiguration, Defence Against the Dark Arts and Potions today." I observed out loud. That's when it hit me: if I got to be put in the same classes as my friends, did Lizzy? "Hey Liz," I said, getting her attention from Fred's other side. "Did McGonagall put you into one of your friends' classes?"

The moment she furrowed her brow, I knew she had no idea what I was talking about. "What? No, I'm a first year."

"Maybe McGonagall wanted you to fit in with us, Sara?" Fred suggested.

"Yeah," George agreed. "I mean, no offence Lizzy, but first years always feel scared and disoriented."

"Thanks George." My little sister's eyes were wide.

Fred looked at his watch and sighed. "We should start walking to the greenhouses."

"Okay." Fred and George stood from their seats and slung their bags over their shoulders. I did the same. "Bye Liz, good luck!"

We exited the Hall and turned left. George quickly walked ahead of Fred and I and held the large front door opened for us.

"Why thank you, kind sir." I joked, clasping my robes as I curtsied to him.

"You are quite welcome, madam!"

Fred shook his head and walked out the doors. "Oh my."

As we walked down the greenhouses, the rainwater from the previous night's thunderstorm had seeped from the grass into our shoes and socks, making the walk very displeasing. I was so relieved when we got to step into the dry shelter of the greenhouse. Although the desks were covered in earth, I would have preferred dry earth to the damp humidity of outdoors. Fred, George and I were the first ones in the classroom, so we chose a rather solitary desk at the back of the room and set our books up there. The next person to enter the greenhouse was a small, plump woman. She kind of reminded me of Mrs. Weasley, except her shoulder length, curly hair was grey, not red and her eyes didn't share the warmth of Mrs. Weasley's.

"Good morning, Weasleys." she said quite harshly. She did not sound as though she was frustrated with the twins but merely with how busy she was, for she didn't look up from her desk.

"Good morning, Professor Sprout." Fred and George chorused. So this was Sprout. She glanced up from her papers for a moment when she realized that Fred and George weren't alone.

"Oh, welcome to Hogwarts, Miss Hughes." I didn't know how she knew who I was, but lots of people did seem to know. Sixth year transfer students from Canada were obviously not common.

"Thanks." During my greeting, five more students had settled themselves around the room. I surveyed the group of Hufflepuffs at a desk near the front to see Cedric among them. His eye caught mine and he smiled as if to say 'Hello'. I smiled back and then went back to listening to Fred ad George talk about how they couldn't wait to get to Defence Against the Dark Arts that afternoon. What had to be about ten minutes later, the room was filled and Sprout had begun the lesson. By the end of her class, I'd decided that Herbology would be a class to be frightened of. My old school had been so much more about studying plants as opposed to working with them, I hadn't realized how dangerous some of those things could be.

As soon as Fred and George had led me to the third floor for Charms, I discovered just how excited I actually was. Charms has always been my favourite subject in school. I'd favoured the wand-waving and incantations more than the fine brewing of Potions or precise needs of Transfiguration. The moment I walked in the classroom and set my eyes on Professor Flitwick for the first time, I had to restrain myself from laughing. He was a tiny, old wizard that needed to stand on a stack of books to see over his desk. For the first day back to school, he made us review how to get a book to read itself to you. We hadn't gone over that at my old school, so George cast the charm on my book for me.

"Thanks for that." I whispered, as I was unsure Flitwick was out of earshot while he listened to some other books a few tables over.

"Anytime, mate."

Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall went similarly to Charms, save for the fact that I was actually able to turn my cat into a footrest and back. The twins looked stunned.

"It looks like we've got another Granger on our hands, eh George?" Fred noted as we left the room.

I laughed out loud, causing many stares to be cast our way. "Not even." I stated simply. "No offence, but I'm a lot less uptight than her. And I'm not completely..."

"Devoted?" Fred cut in.

"Yes, devoted to homework and school and what not. I'm pretty good, but I don't have to study so much."

Arriving to Professor Moody's Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson was very uncomfortable. Before we even got through the doorway, his big, blue eye detected it was us. "Welcome Mr. Weasley, Miss Hughes, Mr. Diggory and the other Mr. Weasley." I looked behind me to see Cedric trying to enter the room as well. He was in all of my classes so far. I assumed he only took the basic courses as well. As the room filled up with students, Moody wrote his name on the board. "I am Professor Alastor Moody: Ex-Auror, and your new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher." The class was silent, but I don't think it was because everyone was interested in what he was saying. "There are three curses that no wizard should ever use. They are called the Unforgivable Curses because the use of any one of them means a lifetime sentence in Azkaban. Who can name one of them?"

Not too much to my surprise, Fred hesitantly raised his hand. "Yes, Mr. Weasley?"

"My dad told me about one once."

"Yeah?" Moody's hoarse voice encouraged him to continue.

"The Imperius Curse?"

"Ah yes, that one gave the Ministry quite a bit of trouble in the past." Moody pulled out a jar, stuck his hand in and extracted a spider about the size of his palm. I thanked Merlin I was sitting in the back of the room. Spiders were not my friends. He pointed his wand at the spider and said very clearly, "Imperio!" Then he flicked his wand at his desk and the spider jumped from his hand to his desk. As Moody's wand swayed in his hand, the spider seemed to be dancing around on the desk. Or so Fred told 

me. I was covering my eyes. "The Imperius Curse allows the caster of it to penetrate the mind of its victim and control their will. Very good. What other Curses are there?" A curly-haired Ravenclaw girl shot her hand in the air.

"The Cruciatus Curse?" She answered before Moody could choose her.

"Yes, yes. The Cruciatus Curse..." Moody smirked. "The torture curse." His features were even more scattered as he yelled, "Crucio!" The spider fell back on Moody's desk and squirmed ferociously. I was sure that if it could, it would be screaming bloody murder by that point. Moody broke eye-contact with his victim which broke the curse. "Yes. One more?" I blinked a few times and found my own hand raise slowly above my head. "Miss Hughes?"

"The um... the Killing Curse."

"The most deadly of curses." Moody explained as he turned back to the limp spider on his desk and cried out, "Avada Kedavera!" There was a bright green flash and the spider was dead. "Only one person has ever known to survive it." Moody didn't have to say who it was before I knew exactly who had survived. You-Know-Who had used the Killing Curse on Harry only to find it rebound off of the baby wizard and cause him to lose his powers. I knew the story of Harry Potter more than my own life story. Fred and George had caught on as well and the room went silent. I had a feeling this class was going to be quiet for most of the time.

I hadn't gotten goose bumps all day like I usually did when I was nervous or excited, until the three of us descended to the dungeons and entered Professor Snape's Potions classroom. The room appeared to have a transparent green glow to it. This was caused, I assumed, by the light reflecting through the many jars around the room filled with organs and a special preserving liquid. The preservative must have been slightly green. Again, Fred, George and I took a seat at the back of the class. Snape sat at his desk and sneered at the people who walked into the room. He had long, greasy black hair and his eyes looked completely black to match his billowing robes.

"Welcome back, everyone." I noticed that as he said this, he was looking solely at the Slytherins sitting in the front few tables. "And also, I'd like to say welcome to our new Canadian witch, Miss Hughes." Snape obviously didn't mean it, as it came out as a drawl.

"Bloody git." George glared at Snape with such hate I'd never seen come from the eyes of a Weasley.

"Snape favours the Slytherins." Fred explained, whispering his words in my ear. The rest of the class was spent the same way. No matter how perfect my potion was, Snape did not seem to think it was as good as the others. But it wasn't just me he degraded either. It was all of the other houses. It may be because I was biased, but I think he had picked on Fred, George and I the most. I was just relieved when Snape announced it was time to go to dinner.

"Hey Sara, how was your first day?" Hermione asked once the group of us was settled in and already digging into our plates.

I shrugged. "It was alright."

Ron chuckled at my response. "It's school, I know what you mean. It usually doesn't get any better than this." Ron's laughter carried over to Harry. Hermione glared at them both, but they didn't notice.

"Hi everyone." I looked up to verify that the voice I heard was in fact my sister's. She wasn't alone though, she sat across the table from me with Ginny. From the next table over, behind Lizzy I could see Cedric grinning at me. He wrote something on a piece of parchment, made it into a paper airplane and went to throw it in my direction, but instead he tapped it with his wand and the plane soared directly into my empty dinner plate. It read:

_Sara,_

_Meet me outside the Great Hall after you've finished eating. We can talk._

_From Cedric_

His handwriting wasn't as neat as mine was, but I treasured his messy script and stuffed the note in the pocket in my robes.

"Sara, hello?" Fred nudge my left arm with his elbow and his wide eyes were only inches from my face as I turned to him.

"What?"

"What's that?" He pointed to the pocket where I stored Cedric's note.

"Nothing."

"Rubbish." Fred laughed. "Who's it from?"

"No one." The shade of fuchsia my cheeks were changing wasn't the slightest bit convincing. He followed my previous line of sight to catch Cedric smiling from the Hufflepuff table.

He gasped in fake awe. "Did you get a wove wetter from wittle Cedwic?" The new baby voice Fred acquired made me laugh along with him and loosen up a bit.

"It's not a love letter." I said, finishing my chuckle. "Cedric just wants to see me after dinner to talk. Probably about school." I added as I watched Fred's smile get wider with every word I said.

"Alright, mate. Whatever you say." I was so thankful that the rest of the group, that being George, Lizzy, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Harry and Neville were deep in conversation and didn't take notice of what Fred and I were discussing.

"Okay, sorry everyone, but I've got to go." I sighed and stood from the bench. "See you later in the common room." It was half an hour later and I'd just finished my meal.

"Bye Sara."

"Yeah, bye."

I strode across the Hall to the exit and made my way out of the large doors rather quickly. Without realizing, Cedric had been leaning against the wall next to the door I'd just emerged from and I walked right by him.

"Where are you going?" I spun around to see Cedric. He hadn't moved an inch.

"Oh hi. I didn't see you there." He stood on his own two feet again, without relying on the wall for support and came over to me. His dirty blonde hair wasn't messy today, but sleeked back and his hazel eyes were sparkling. I immediately thought about how untidy I looked compared to him. My long, dark hair was straight, but still messy and my usual eyeliner was probably smudged so I looked like I had big, grey bags under my eyes. That's when my hands started sweating unnecessarily and I noticed the earth that I'd gotten under my fingernails in Herbology hadn't been washed out yet. Oh boy.

"Want to go for a walk?" He offered, gesturing to the giant oak front doors of the castle.

"Yes please."

We trekked down the steps and once more there was dewy grass beneath my feet. As he led me down little stone steps that had been built into the steep hill we descended so that one wouldn't trip and fall, I noticed just how dark it was outside and I had no idea where we were going.

"Ah!" In the dark, I had tripped over one of my shoes and let out a short scream as I fell. I expected to fall down the hill all the way to the bottom, but Cedric was standing only two steps ahead of me and I crashed into his back then lay on the cold stone. Upon collision, Cedric turned around slowly and looked down to see me sitting on the ground.

"Come on." He held my hand and picked me up. "Are you okay?"

I cleaned off the back of my robes as much as I could with one hand because he had my other hand tightly in his own. "I'm fine."

"Let's go then." He helped me down the rest of the steps and led me passed a little hut to the edge of a lake. He let go of my hand, sat down on the grass and leaned his back against a nearby tree. As I sat next to him and leaned against the large tree trunk, he looked up into the sky. I followed his line of vision to the velvety midnight blue sky above us. Millions of little stars sparkled above our heads. Living in the city, I didn't get to see stars often. I let a sigh escape my lips as I casually relaxed myself against Cedric's side.

"So how was your first day at Hogwarts?" he asked, looking out at the vast lake's smooth surface.

"Pretty good, I suppose." I shrugged. "Nothing special."

"What about that Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson?"

"What about it?"

Through our whole conversation, we didn't make eye contact once. We just looked out at the lake. "Those Unforgivable Curses aren't supposed to be performed in a classroom, are they?"

I nodded. "Technically he's not supposed to perform them at all, let alone performing them for a classroom of sixth years."

"Great, so he's mad as a hatter. I don't feel safe with a loony Defence Against the Dark Arts professor." I chortled along with Cedric.

"So, what do you think about the Triwizard Tournament?" I'd asked him to reassure there were no awkward silences.

He smirked at the lake, seeing as how he hadn't looked at me yet. "I think I may enter."

"Really?" I did the math quickly in my head. He was in sixth year as well, so he very well may be of age to become the Hogwarts Champion.

"Yeah, I think it'd be great. I'm good at magic, I'd win a thousand galleons and I'd give Hogwarts the glory." He paused before uncomfortably adding, "No offence, but Gryffindors always get the spotlight and I think it would be good to see a Hufflepuff win."

"You'd make a great Hogwarts Champion," I verified. He sensed by my voice that I had more to say, so I continued. "But Hermione told me that people have died in this Tournament before."

"That's only because ruddy idiots entered without realizing how hard the tasks would be. Don't worry, I'm really good at magic."

I sighed. "Alright."

For the first time that night, he turned and looked me in the eye. "Sara, don't worry." He said sternly. "I'll be fine."

After walking me back up to the castle, Cedric gave me a hug and went up a different staircase than the one I followed to get to the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Balderdash!" I said before she could ask for the password. The portrait swung open and I ran inside.

"Sara!" George smiled and jumped up off the armchair he was sitting in. "Where have you been? It's practically ten o'clock!"

"She was at the library, I think." Fred stood from his own cushy armchair and placed his hand in the small of my back. He led me to an empty corner of the common room and dropped his voice to a whisper. "So how was the date with Mr. Diggory?"

"It wasn't a date!" I whispered hoarsely back. "We're like best friends."

"I beg to differ." He smirked. "I think you've got more than friendship on your mind."

My cheeks turned red. "No I don't."

"So what you're saying," Fred began, "is if I slipped you a bit of Truth Potion and asked you if you fancied Cedric Diggory, you would say no?"

"I don't know."

Fred just smiled. "Okay, I'll drop it."

"Thank you."

We both left the corner in silence. I headed up the staircase to the girls' dormitory and opened the wooden door to find all three beds occupied. The only one I recognized was Katie Bell with her long, dirty blonde hair tied in pigtails today. One of the other girls was very tall. She had beautiful chocolate brown eyes that matched her skin tone and black hair that had to reach her waist. The other unknown girl looked only a little taller than I was and she had sandy brown hair that only came to about her chin. It flipped out a bit and was held back with a thick, red headband. Her eyes were a light hazel colour.

"Hey Sara!" Katie smiled warmly. "How was your first day?"

"Pretty amazing."

All three girls giggled and the one with the waist length, black hair responded. "Yeah, that feeling goes away after the first few months."

"Oh," Katie perked up, "this is Angelina Johnson," she motioned to the girl with the long black hair, "and Alicia Spinnet." she pointed to the girl with the headband. "Angelina, Alicia, this is Sara Hughes." Katie looked so happy to be introducing her friends to one another.

"Hi." I waved at them and sat on my bed, which must have been made at one point during the day because I hadn't done it myself.

"So you're from Canada?" Alicia asked, looking very intrigued.

"Yeah." I felt very uncomfortable as she stared at me and slowly nodded her head.

"I can't believe the Triwizard Tournament comes to Hogwarts for your very first year. That must be so exciting!" Angelina grinned.

"Yeah, I guess. I'm a little disappointed. I was looking forward to trying our for the Quidditch team." At this moment, all three girls acted like they were very pleased that I was their roommate.

"You play?" asked Angelina.

"Yep. I'm a chaser."

"The three of us are chasers as well." Katie chimed in.

"Well, maybe it wasn't so bad that Quidditch got cancelled this year." I chuckled. With three Gryffindor chasers already on the team, that left no room for me.

The four of us stayed up until midnight talking about Quidditch and really, anything that crossed our minds. I was so relieved that no one brought up the topic of cute wizards. These would be three witches I could get along with. My first day at Hogwarts and already I'd made so many new friends. I couldn't wait to see what else Hogwarts had in store for me.


	6. You're More Appealing

Chapter Six: You're More Appealing

My first month and a half at Hogwarts had been more amazing than I could have imagined. My group of friends mainly consisted of Fred, George, Cedric and Katie, who I'd discovered was in all of my classes as well, but the larger group also included Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Lizzy and Neville. My favourite classes had grown to be Charms and Potions, but both for different reasons. I'd always loved Charms because of the spells and wand use, but I loved Potions because it was taught by Professor Snape. Fred and George thought I was crazy for thinking Snape was a good teacher. I thought it didn't matter that he hated me. He pushed me to do my best and he was an amazing professor. They suggested I didn't tell anyone else about my fondness for Snape, or it may get back to Ron and he'd punch me in the face.

It was nearing the end of October and I still loved everything about Hogwarts. It seemed though, when the whole school was told to meet in the front courtyard, I wasn't the only one curious to see what was happening. No one was wearing their uniform that day. Robes and dress shoes were nowhere to be seen. I very much preferred the comfort of my baggy black cargo pants, grey striped t-shirt and black 'Weird Sisters' hoodie to my robes, grey pleated skirt, blouse and vest. The blouses made me itch. I stood with George, Fred, Ginny and Lizzy that evening as the whole school waited for the unknown. Dumbledore appeared to be looking at his pocket watch every few minutes and finally he nodded then looked into the sky. Everyone mimicked the Headmaster to see what appeared to be a giant house being pulled by flying horses. My guess wasn't far off. A large carriage being pulled by oversized, winged horses landed in a wide open area near a hut with an extensive forest behind it.

"Bloody hell!" Fred, George and I all said at once. Over time I'd begun to pick up an accent of my own, so I didn't stick out so much anymore.

I noticed two wands that crossed each other printed on the doors of the carriage before they opened and a very large woman stepped out. She had short, dark hair, big eyes and a fur-collared robe wrapped tightly around her big figure. She actually reminded me a lot of Hagrid. The large woman was being followed by at least twenty or thirty witches wearing baby blue uniforms. They resembled suit jackets and knee length skirts a muggle woman may wear to an office.

"Students of Hogwarts," Dumbledore's voice echoed throughout the courtyard. "Please welcome Madam Maxime and her students from Beauxbatons Academy!" The school could barely get out a proper applause before our attention was turned towards the lake where Cedric and I had sat on the very first day of school. The glassy surface of the lake began to bubble and eventually, a large mast broke the calm water. A huge ship emerged from the depths of the lake and ran ashore. Many men wearing dark fur robes descended to land. The oldest man had yellow, crooked teeth and a goatee. "Please welcome Headmaster Igor Karkaroff and his students of Durmstrang Institute!"

As everyone clapped and cheered, I noticed Fred, George and Ginny's eyes stray to one of the Durmstrang students. Lizzy and I surveyed the tall male they studied. He had short, black hair that seemed to be gelled back and dark eyes. He had quite a large nose and a very recognizable smirk on his face.

"Oh my God!" Ginny grinned and leapt up and down.

"Bloody hell!" George exclaimed. "That's Viktor Krum!"

"Krum?" Lizzy asked, digging her fingers into my arm. "The Bulgarian seeker?"

"That's him, Liz!" We didn't appear to be the only Quidditch fans in Hogwarts, either. Most of the students were on their tiptoes trying to get a better look at Viktor Krum.

"Everyone!" Dumbledore's voice echoed once more through the, now larger, crowd. "Let us show our guests to the Great Hall for the feast. They have travelled long ways to be with us and surely, they are hungry." The Hogwarts students trudged up towards the castle once more, this time being followed by the older students of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang.

"I can't believe that Krum is still only seventeen..." I said, my mouth hanging open in awe. "Just the way he plays seems so... experienced!"

"He is quite incredible." Ginny agreed.

About then, Fred and George looked over their shoulders and grinned. "Blimey," George spoke up, "do you reckon any of those Beauxbatons ladies are still single?" I smacked my forehead. A little harder than I'd intended to. This caused both twins to giggle.

"Don't worry, Sara," Fred reassured me, "you're more appealing than all of them put together." And he winked.

"Yeah okay." I rolled my eyes and smiled.

When everyone had settled themselves in the Great Hall, quite uncomfortably due to the addition of about fifty more students, Dumbledore stood at his place at the Head Table.

"Now that the beautiful ladies of Beauxbatons and the strapping young lads of Durmstrang have united with the fine students of Hogwarts, I can explain to you all how this Tournament is going to work." An immediate hush fell over the Hall as we stopped chattering to listen to Dumbledore. He continued on. "Something very important chooses the Champions of this Tournament. Something far more binding than a wizard's word. The Goblet of Fire will choose one Champion from each school. This Goblet will reside in the Entrance Hall until Halloween night's feast, at which time the Champions will be chosen. Until then, students over the age of seventeen will be able to enter their names into the Goblet. I have just one warning:" Dumbledore's voice became stern. "Do not do so lightly. If chosen, you stand alone. These tasks are designed to test you in the most amazing sense of the word. Put your name in that Goblet if you feel you have the passion to compete." The Hall was so silent after his words that a pin could have dropped in the most distant corner and still be heard. The old wizard sighed. "Well that is all that needs to be taken into account for today. I think it's about time to eat."

That night I lay in bed, my eyes wide open, just thinking for hours. Cedric said he was going to enter into the Tournament, didn't he? Yes, but he may not get picked by the Goblet of Fire. I was proud Cedric was brave enough to enter the Tournament in the first place, but I honestly hoped he wouldn't get in. I couldn't handle the stress of not knowing if he would come out of this year alive or not, and I had to be sure. Who else from Hogwarts would put their name into the Goblet? I was just glad that Fred and George weren't old enough yet...

It was the Monday evening before Halloween and many students had put their names in the Goblet. Most were from Durmstrang or Beauxbatons, or were Hogwarts students I didn't know yet. I only recognized one person who'd stepped up. Viktor Krum had put his name into the large Goblet the night after Dumbledore's great speech. No one was surprised. I sat in the Entrance Hall that Monday evening. With less than a week until Halloween night, everyone was getting anxious to see who else was going to enter. Especially me. I sat on one of the benches that had lined the room next to Hermione. We were back in our uniforms again and she was reading what seemed to be a very interesting book on Arithmancy.

"So, are you going to enter, Sara?" she asked. She jerked her head toward the Goblet in the center of the room, not lifting her eyes from the page she was on.

I almost laughed out loud. "Nope. Not old enough. Wouldn't enter if I was."

"Really? I thought you would want to, being an adventure-seeker and all."

That's about when Fred and George came running down the large marble staircase. My attention turned to them. "What are you doing?"

"We're going to enter our names into the Goblet of Fire." Fred grinned proudly.

"I thought you weren't old enough yet."

"We're not."

"Then how do you propose you cross Dumbledore's Age Line?" I looked at the line Hermione referred to. It looked like a circle drawn around the Goblet of Fire on the cold stone with chalk, but it probably wouldn't allow anyone sixteen or younger to cross it.

George pulled a vial from his robes filled with a dully coloured substance and replied simply, "Age Potion."

"Cooked it up this morning." Fred reached into his robes and took out an identical vial to George's.

Hermione glared at them, then her face softened. "Go ahead and try, but it won't work."

The twins smiled as they popped the stoppers off the tubes and drank their potion in one sip. "How is it?" I asked.

George licked his lips. "Tastes like pumpkin juice." This comment made Fred chuckle. They walked up to the Age Line and cautiously stepped over it. Once all four legs were over the line and nothing had happened, they cheered along with the others in the Hall who had been listening in. Suddenly, Fred and George were thrown off their feet, about five feet in the air and landed on the stone floor on their backs in front of Hermione and I. No sooner than they hit the floor had the twins' long red hair begin to turn white and they sprouted beards to match. They sat on the ground and slowly looked each other up and down. Fred's mouth was the first to crack a smile and they both burst into laughter. The Hall laughed along with them and I think I was laughing the loudest.

"What is so funny?" Professor McGonagall came scurrying to the scene. At the sight of two Weasleys with white hair, beards and empty vials in their hands, she appeared to be lost. First she looked like she was trying to suppress a laugh, then she coughed and spoke up. "What happened here? Did you try to cross the line with an Age Potion?"

"Age Potion?" Fred said, still laughing.

"Yeah." George admitted through a grin.

"Who made it?" McGonagall cocked an eyebrow. "Was it you two?" Fred nodded. "Okay, I need the two of you to come with me. We have to get rid of these beards." McGonagall was so obviously failing to hide her amusement.

"And the white hair, too, if you could." George sighed. "I miss my luscious, red locks." McGonagall led them up the marble staircase to, I assumed, the Hospital Wing.

After everyone had a good bout of laughter at Fred and George's experience, the Hall was back to its silence and I was reading my Potions textbook as Hermione finished off her Arithmancy book. That's about the time when I noticed a group of Hufflepuff boys stumbling into the Entrance Hall and toward the Goblet of Fire. Among them was Cedric. No, no, no, please no... My praying wasn't enough. Cedric stepped forward, over the Age Line and dropped a piece of parchment into the Goblet. The tall, beautiful Hufflepuff came striding towards Hermione and I and sat next to me.

"I just put my name in the Goblet of Fire." He apparently thought I was reading and hadn't seen him put his name in.

"Yeah, I saw."

"What do you think?"

"What do I think?" That was a good question. At the moment, I was really upset, but I couldn't tell him that. "Well..." Looking into his big, hazel eyes made it really hard to tell him the truth. "I hope you become the Hogwarts Champion." I didn't think I was very convincing, but Cedric believed it.

"Thanks Sara," he smiled and put his hand on my shoulder. "That means a lot."

I smiled back. "Good luck."

That night, I had a hard time getting to sleep. I tossed and turned for hours thinking about what would happen if Cedric's name came out of the Goblet. When I fell asleep at last, I had an amazing dream. In the dream, Cedric had won the Triwizard Tournament. He held the Triwizard Cup high over his head, then wrapped me in his arms and kissed me on the lips. He was, indeed, a Champion. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if Cedric's name was chosen...


	7. Practically Identical

Chapter Seven: Practically Identical

I had been anxious for Halloween to come, but it finally did and my stomach was doing somersaults. I was advised by George that I shouldn't join them in devouring sweets if my stomach wasn't feeling up to it. I later realized that my stomach was definitely up to it, it was my heart that couldn't handle the strain. Fred, George and I sat at the back of Potions class as usual on Halloween. Every single student was sitting on the edge of their seats, waiting for Snape to say it was time for dinner. Every single student, that is, except for me.

"Sara, are you alright?" Fred asked. He gently lifted my chin up so my eyes were forced to meet his.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I never was very good at lying.

"Come on, what is it? The Triwizard Champions get chosen tonight!" My stomach lurched and apparently it was visible in my face. Fred dropped the volume of his voice by considerable margins. "What's wrong?"

I casually looked over my shoulder to see George in deep conversation with Katie Bell, so I whispered back to Fred, "I'm scared."

"Scared? Why?" I ignored his next two questions as I sideways glanced over towards the table of Cedric and his group of four other Hufflepuff friends. "Oh..." Fred sighed. "Don't worry about him. I've seen him perform magic since first year. He's best in almost every class. Please don't worry, he'll be fine." I pursed my lips, and Fred continued. "Besides, nothing that bad could happen to him if Dumbledore and a load of Ministry wizards are here."

I was finally convinced. "You're right." Fred grinned. "Thanks Fred."

"No problem, mate." Now that I knew Cedric was safe, my dream from last night could finally be pursued.

Our walk to the Great Hall didn't last as long as I hoped it would have, and before I knew it, I was sitting between Fred and Harry at the Halloween feast. The Goblet wouldn't choose the Champions until after we ate, and that I was very thankful for. There was so much food and that didn't even include dessert. Once the plates had cleared, more desserts had appeared on the clean plates than usual. Ordinarily, we had cakes, puddings, pies and ice cream set out for us, but today we also had sacks of Bertie Bott's Every Flavoured Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Blood Lollipops and many other types of irregular treats. The moment I'd seen the sweets, I had one of everything in my mouth at once.

"Don't try to eat your troubles away, Sweet." Fred smiled and popped a green jelly bean into his mouth.

"Did you just call me 'Sweet'?" I asked when I had swallowed my mouthful of candy.

"I did." He grinned proudly and dug into a Pumpkin Pasty.

At last, the moment everyone awaited had come. The plates had cleared a final time and everyone looked at Dumbledore, anticipating his speech tonight which was sure to be interesting. "Welcome, one and all, to the moment of truth." That's when I noticed the Goblet of Fire was sitting on its pedestal in front of the Head Table and Dumbledore began to approach it. "Very soon, three people will have a great responsibility thrust upon them and they will have the opportunity of a lifetime." It was perfect that the Headmaster had stopped talking when he did, because the Goblet's blue flames had begun to turn bright red. Sparks shot out of the Goblet of Fire and a piece of parchment had plainly blown out. Dumbledore caught it in his hands as the slip of parchment had begun to sink through the air. "The Durmstrang Champion is Viktor Krum!" Everyone in the Hall cheered uncontrollably.

"No surprises there!" George called out from across the table. Viktor stood from his seat at the Slytherin table, got many high-fives and then advanced on Dumbledore. They shook hands and Dumbledore pointed him in the direction of a door behind the Head Table. Viktor entered it and was out of sight.

The Goblet began to spark again, and it had everyone's full attention within seconds. Another slip of parchment shot out and Dumbledore caught it. He turned it over in his hands several times before reading it aloud. "The Beauxbatons Champion is Fleur Delacour!" A girl wearing the baby blue uniform 

and long, blonde hair tied in a ponytail stood from the Ravenclaw table, shook Dumbledore's hand and followed Viktor into the room behind the Head Table.

This was it. The moment I waited so eagerly for. The Hogwarts Champion was about to be chosen and I still wasn't sure if I wanted it to be Cedric or not. It wasn't until the Goblet spat out the last slip of parchment and Dumbledore said, "The Hogwarts Champion is Cedric Diggory!" that I realized it wasn't about what I wanted. Cedric wanted to be the Hogwarts Champion and I should be happy for him. I immediately caught his eye and grinned wider than ever.

"Yeah, go Cedric!" I screamed over everyone's yelling. He beamed at me as he saw how excited I was for him. I noticed him mouth the words 'Thank you' to me before shaking Dumbledore's hand and making his way to the room where the other Champions currently waited.

"And that's that!" Dumbledore smiled. "We have our three Champions! Who knows what lies ahead..." Before he could finish his idea, the Goblet's flames turned red once more, sparks shot out, and a fourth piece of parchment came gliding down from the air. He read it at least five times over before reading the name out loud. "Harry Potter..." He muttered, but everyone in the Hall was silent enough to have heard him.

"Go on, Harry." Hermione mumbled and gave him a nudge. Harry hesitantly stood. No one cheered for him like they had the other Champions. Why did Harry's name come out of the Goblet? More importantly, how had he gotten it in? He sauntered up to Dumbledore, who did not shake his hand but merely give him the parchment with his name on it, and then walked slowly into the room behind the Head Table.

"Had Harry told you he put his name into the Goblet?" Ron whispered angrily to no one in particular. A chorus of 'No' could be heard from our whole group.

"Could have told me though, his best friend..."

"Well maybe he didn't put his name into the Goblet?" Hermione suggested, keeping her voice no higher than a whisper. "I mean, maybe someone's trying to get to him. Or trying to get him hurt..." As everyone thought about who could have set Harry up, I noticed that Dumbledore, Moody, Snape and a few other adults had left the Head Table and gone into the room Harry had just entered.

McGonagall stood from the Head Table. "You are all dismissed! Please go directly to your common rooms!" She shouted as loud as her tiny voice could carry so everyone would hear her and then followed Dumbledore into the back room.

"Sara, what's going on?" Lizzy asked, falling into step beside me as we all ascended to the Gryffindor common room.

"Why would someone be trying to get to Harry?" I asked, ignoring my sister. She tugged at my robes and looked up at me. "Oh sorry, Liz. I'm just trying to think about how Harry's name could have gotten into the Goblet of Fire. He's only fourteen, remember?"

Lizzy nodded. "Yeah, but why is everyone panicking? Why is it such a big deal that his name was entered?"

I sighed and lay a hand on her shoulder. "Do you remember those hooded wizards at the Quidditch World Cup?" I asked her. She nodded once and then blinked. "That happened for a reason... And now Harry's name is entered into the Tournament... I don't know if these are all just coincidences. Maybe someone is trying to get to him."

She shuddered and continued walking. "I hope not. I really like Harry."

"Me too, Liz." That's when my big-sister identity crawled into place and I whispered, "But I'd say that you like Ron a lot more." into her ear.

Her big eyes widened and were directed at the floor. "I do not like Ron."

"I think maybe you do." Our voices had raised to normal volume again.

"Shut up."

"That's not very nice." Fred interrupted with a smirk. "You shouldn't tell your older sister to shut up."

"Thank you, Fred." Lizzy pouted and trailed behind us the rest of the way to the common room.

The eight of us arranged ourselves in a semicircle around the fireplace as soon as we got to the common room. Luckily, most of the people had gone straight to bed after the feast so we had more privacy to talk about anything we wanted. I sat on the floor between Neville and Hermione's legs, which were hanging from the couch.

"What do you think they're gonna do to Harry?" Hermione squeaked. " I don't think he put his own name in..."

"Maybe he did." Lizzy suggested. "Maybe he wanted a challenge?" She shrugged.

Suddenly it hit me. "They won't make him compete in the Tournament, will they?" I asked, a sense of nervousness in my voice. From what I understood, Harry wasn't the best wizard and all I could hear was Cedric's voice reminding me, "Ruddy idiots entered without realizing how hard the tasks would be."

"Well, he put his name in," Ron hissed, "why wouldn't he have to compete?"

"How do you know that?" said Ginny, evidently sticking up for Harry. "How do you know someone didn't enter his name and they're trying to hurt him?"

Just then, the portrait opened and Harry came sulking through. Without a word, he sat on the floor next to me and stared distantly into the fire in front of us.

"Harry?" Neville cautiously said. "What happened?"

"I told them I didn't enter my name." Harry's cold, green eyes continued to stare at the flames dancing before him. "Then Crouch, the Head of Magical Law Enforcement or whatever, said that the Goblet of Fire is like a binding magical contract and I have to go ahead and compete in the Tournament."

"Have they gone mad?!" Hermione practically screamed. I assumed that she realized how late it was and people were trying to sleep, because her voice got gradually quieter.

"Dunno." Harry shrugged. Ron sighed and appeared to have rolled his eyes before standing from his armchair and striding up to the dormitory.

"What's got his wand in a knot?" Hermione asked, lowering her voice to be sure Ron wouldn't overhear her.

"Not sure." I said, honestly.

Fred spoke up. "Seems to me that Ronniekins is a wee bit jealous of Harry, here."

"Jealous?" I asked, looking up at Fred who sat on an armchair. "Why would he be jealous?"

"Maybe he thinks Harry somehow got his name into the Goblet." Fred said, examining the situation for all of us to hear. "And he didn't even tell him." We all nodded. It made sense. "Personally, I think that he's jealous because Harry gets all the spotlight and he's always cast aside. But that's just me." There was a pause before he added, "Eugh, no offence, Harry. It's not your fault."

"I know." Harry sighed. There was a long awkward silence, so Harry said, "Okay, I'm off to bed." When Hermione stood up and followed him, I took her old spot on the sofa next to Neville.

Now that there was only the six of us left, we were free to talk about the Tournament in a more excited manner.

"So, what do you think of the other three Champions that were chosen?" I asked, trying to break the silence. I hated silence.

It was Ginny that replied first. "I wasn't surprised to see Krum get in."

"Me neither." Fred grinned.

"Does anyone know who Fleur Delacour is?" asked George.

"I've seen her around." Lizzy admitted. "I don't think she's going to do well in the Tournament. She looks like too much of a girl."

"Liz, she is a girl." I pointed out.

"Yeah, but I mean, more of a girl than others. Like you. You're more of a tomboyish girl."

Everyone remaining chuckled. "Nice one, Liz."

"Hey Sara," Fred spoke up, "How do you feel about your mate, Cedric Diggory, getting into the Tournament?" He must had noticed how I cheered him on, contradicting my past emotions.

"Well at first I was scared, but now I'm really excited for him."

"Yeah, I noticed that." Neville cut in. "You were picking at your food for the entire feast, and then when his name was called, you stood up and started cheering like mad."

I smiled. "I guess you could say I had a bit of an epiphany." It wasn't until I saw Lizzy yawn that I realized Ginny had fallen asleep. "Why don't you two get to bed?" Lizzy just nodded and pulled Ginny up by the elbow. The two girls trudged to their rooms.

"You probably get this all the time," George said, "but Lizzy looks just like you."

"Seriously? We have nothing in common, physically."

"I dunno, I think you two look the same."

"You and Fred look the same, maybe that's who you're thinking of?" Neville and I giggled as we saw Fred and George look at each other.

"Blimey, she's right!" George gasped.

"We're practically identical!"

After an hour or two longer, both Fred and George had given up trying to stay awake longer than they could and they had patted me on the head, then ascended the stairs. This left me alone with Neville. At first, I felt very uncomfortable being alone with someone I barely knew, but it became a lot easier as we found more things to talk about.

"So do you think someone else put his name into the Goblet or do you think he did it himself?" asked Neville.

"I don't know. I don't want to start being paranoid and assume it was someone else. But then again, I don't want to underestimate what the situation may be. I mean, he said he didn't do it."

"Yeah," Neville agreed, "and he did look quite depressed when he came up to the common room, tonight."

"I just don't know."

"I guess we'll find out."

"What about the rest of the school, they must be outraged!" I just realized that everyone who wasn't concerned for Harry's life was probably furious with him. He was now an exception to the age rule.

"I hadn't even thought of that!" Neville's eyes shifted uneasily. "Hopefully they're just as supportive of him as they are of Cedric."

"Hopefully."

Suddenly a wave of tiredness crashed over me.

"Okay, sorry Neville but I'm getting tired. I should rest."

"Yeah, me too." We both stood from the couch and smiled at each other.

"G'night, Neville."

"Goodnight Sara, see you tomorrow morning at breakfast."

"See you." And with that, we had disappeared into our dormitories, anticipating the comfort of our own beds.


	8. Innocent Little Snacks

**Author's Note: **I didn't realize I had posted Chapter 9 as both 8 and 9 on here, so this chapter has been missing all these months.

Chapter Eight: Innocent Little Snacks

It was the weekend after Cedric's name had been pulled out of the Goblet of Fire, and I had gotten over any feelings of insecurity. Cedric would be fine. It was Harry that I now worried about. My prediction about how the school would react to Harry's underage entry into the Tournament was fairly exact. People were very angry that Harry had gotten into the Tournament. Most of the people who believed he had entered out of his own free will found themselves wishing they had put their name into the Goblet as well. I felt such sympathy for Harry. He didn't do anything wrong, in my opinion. If he didn't put his name into the Goblet, then he was in the Tournament to be put in danger, and if he did put his name in, then he should be able to compete because it would take one hell of a wizard to trick the Goblet of Fire into choosing a fourth Champion.

Fred, George and I sat on a bench in the courtyard that Saturday. They were organizing their Nosebleed Nougats, Ton-Tongue Toffee and Canary Creams to be sold for that afternoon as I propped 'Hogwarts: A History' open on my lap. The twins kept offering me their strange concoctions, stating I should be the one they test them on, but I refused. I did not want to be covered in feathers, or start having an excessive, not to mention unnecessary, nosebleed. I recognized Ton-Tongue Toffees to be the candy they had told me about on the train ride to Hogwarts. I didn't want my tongue to swell up and change funny colours, either.

"Fine," George sighed, admitting defeat, "but when we become the inventors of best-selling treats, you won't be able to say you were the first to have one."

"Oh, that's quite alright." I smiled as I watched Fred sell a third year Ravenclaw girl a box of Canary Creams. "You've got more than enough people willing to try them."

We'd been sitting there for barely an hour when I noticed that Fred and George weren't the only ones trying to sell their homemade goods at school. A group of Hufflepuffs had been making their way around the courtyard with a small box of something that was getting lots of laughs, and finally they approached me.

"Hello, can I interest you in a badge? My friends and I made them special for the Triwizard Tournament." I stuck my hand into the box and pulled out a circular pin that read 'Potter Stinks' and then changed to read 'Vote Cedric'. I took another pin out of the box, but this one read 'Cedric Diggory: The Real Hogwarts Champion!'

"No thanks." I rolled my eyes and stuck my nose back in my book.

"Oh," the older Hufflepuff boy said. "So you're a Potter supporter?"

"No." I said a little more disgustedly than I'd have preferred. "I support them both."

"Fine. What about the Weasleys?"

"They don't want one either." The group of about seven Hufflepuffs walked in the opposite direction of the three of us and left the courtyard, looking for more potential customers.

"What'd they want?" George asked, who had been selling more of their sweets and had missed the whole thing.

"Trying to sell some Anti-Potter, Go Cedric badges for the Tournament."

"What a bunch of Flobberworms."

That morning at breakfast, after mostly everyone had left, Neville told me that Harry and Ron had gotten into a big fight the night his name came out of the Goblet and they hadn't spoken since. That kind of frightened me, but it also prepared me to see Ron and Hermione walking passed us lacking the company of a certain best friend of theirs. My vision drifted from the page of my book to see Cedric sitting with some of his friends. I noticed that three of them had been part of the large group selling pins. I caught his eye and he smiled sheepishly at me. I looked towards the exit of the courtyard, and he nodded. He said something to his friends and then made his way to the exit.

"I'll meet up with you guys later." I told Fred and George before following Cedric inside the castle.

"Hey Sara," he smiled, "what's up?" Although I was currently angry at him, I made a mental note of my appearance. My hair was neatly brushed and tied back into two low pigtails, my makeup looked neat, and my robes were clean. I was satisfied.

"What's going on?" I asked, rather moodily. "What's with the badges?"

"Oh," his voice had a hint of shame in it and I expected him to apologize, but instead he sighed, "my friends made those. I told them not to go selling them to everyone."

"So you didn't..."

"No, I didn't help make them."

"Oh, alright." By that point, we'd reached the end of a corridor and had to turn left.

"I'm glad to see that you're actually settled down about this Triwizard Tournament killing people business."

"Oh my gosh, I completely forgot! Congratulations, Sir Hogwarts Champion!"

He chuckled as I gave him a quick hug. "Thanks for finally coming to your senses. Your cheering when I got chosen was more important to me than actually hearing my name being read from that slip of parchment." I blushed, but he seemed to ignore it. "So um, did Potter enter his name himself or not?"

"I dunno for sure, so I can't say." That's when I thought would be my only opportunity for me to ask him, "What do you think?"

"I don't know. I don't see him asking for that kind of attention."

"Yeah, me neither."

"So, is that all you wanted to talk about? The badges?" He raised both eyebrows and cocked his head to the side.

"I guess." I admitted. "Do you want to talk about anything?"

"No, no, I guess not."

"Okay, I should be getting back to Fred and George... Make sure they don't start testing their treats on innocent first years."

We both laughed a bit. "Yeah." He agreed. "Okay." Cedric turned on his heel and began to walk away from me. That's when something so un-Sara-like inhibited me and took over.

"Hey Cedric, wait!" I called after him.

"Yeah?" He quickly turned back and walked right up to me.

"I just wanted to let you know that if you need any help in the Tournament, or you just need someone to talk to..." I started turning back to my shy self at the worst time, but he seemed to get the gist of it.

He put his hand gently on my shoulder and squeezed it. "Thanks Sara. I'll come to you first." He winked and turned away again. His wink was nothing like Fred's. One was a friendly wink, the other had flirtatious components to it. And at that exact moment, I thought I knew which one was which.

"Hey Sara!" I heard Lizzy's voice shout as I approached Fred and George once more.

"Oh no," I whispered to myself, "please don't be feeding her Nosebleed Nougats..." Luckily, as I got nearer, I could clearly see that she was reading her own book, sitting with the twins. "Oh thank Merlin."

"Hey," George smiled at me, "your sister has been taking your place while you were gone."

Fred nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, reading a textbook and refusing to try our innocent little snacks."

"So guess what?" Lizzy asked me, ignoring Fred's joke.

"What is it?"

"Earlier today, I'd been offered to buy a pin from a bunch of Hufflepuffs..."

But before she could finish, I interrupted. "Yeah, they found me, too."

"Well, I'd seen all of the Hufflepuffs wearing them because they're furious with Harry for stealing Cedric's limelight, and all the Slytherins wear them because they think Harry's scum."

"Do you have a point..." I smirked.

"Yeah, it inspired me to make my own pins."

My eyes widened. "Oh no. What have you done?" She shoved her robes out of the way for me to see a red pin that said, 'We love Potter!' written in gold letters.

"And I've got a few different slogans on them, too."

"Oh wow, that's amazing! He's going to love those, Liz."  
Lizzy grinned. "Well then, I think I'm going to go to the common room and get a bunch more. Maybe I can make a profit off of these!"

As she ran down the pathway, I shouted after her, "Hey, put me down for one of each!"

"She's brilliant." George chortled. "Just like someone else we know." He clapped me on the back as I sat next to him.

"Aw, thank you, Georgie!"

His cheeks turned red as he turned to me. He didn't look amused by the name I'd called him. "Don't call me that."

"Why not?"

"My mother still calls me that."

"Really?" I looked at Fred from George's other side. "Do you get Freddy?"

"Sometimes."

"Ahh," I sighed. "This is great."

"Quiet you."

That evening, I made my way to the common room and found Lizzy sitting at a desk in the corner of the room. She appeared to had just finished sorting her different badges supporting Harry. I recognized the 'We love Potter!' badge, but she'd made three more: one reading 'Potter for President', 'Vote Harry Potter' and one that said 'Harry Potter:' and then changed to add 'The Hogwarts Champion'. She'd also made specific ones for Cedric ('Cedric Diggory:', then turned into 'Heartthrob and Hogwarts Champion'), Viktor Krum ('Viktor Krum:', then turned into 'Not Just a Seeker') and Fleur Delacour ('Fleur Delacour:', 'One Tough Witch'). I'd made a point to buy at least five of the Cedric Diggory ones.

"Hey, great work, Liz."

"Thanks." She smirked and held up her recently organized box of badges. "So what can I get you? It's two sickles per pin, but since you're my sister, I'll give you the first three free."

"No, it's okay. I'll pay."

"Sweet, which ones do you want?"

"I'll take a 'We love Potter!', a 'Potter for President', and a 'Cedric Diggory: Heartthrob and Hogwarts Champion'." Lizzy handed me my three pins as I gave her six sickles from my pocket and she chuckled. "What?"

"Nothing, I just knew you'd get a Cedric one."

"How?"

"I made them especially for you." I just shook my head and sat on the sofa in front of the fireplace. Just then, Harry and Neville came walking into the common room. Lizzy ran up to them with her box and held it up for them to see. "Can I interest you boys in a Triwizard pin?"

"Oh no, not more of these things..." Harry sighed, but as he read what was printed on them, his frown curved into a half-smile. "'Potter for President'?"

"Yeah, I've got a few of those ones."

"I'll take a 'Harry Potter: The Hogwarts Champion'." Neville said, pulling a handful of gold out of his pocket. "What does it cost?"

"Two sickles, please."

"Liz, did you make these?" Harry asked, taking a better look at the handcrafted pins.

"Yeah." She grinned widely.

"Thanks so much." He gave her a one-armed hug. "At least someone is supporting me." He seemed to glare angrily at an armchair that had its back facing us. It wasn't until his comment that I noticed a messy, red mop of hair coming out from the top. Poor Ron...


	9. Oh, the Irony

Chapter Nine: Oh, the Irony

The date of the first task was drawing nearer and I was getting nervous. I'd seen Harry and Hermione in the library often, practicing the Summoning Charm, but I didn't know if he had any idea what the first task was, or if the Summoning Charm would even help him. This led me to wonder if Cedric may have known what the task could be. I sat with Fred one morning in Herbology, waiting for it to be over. George and Katie had grown relatively close and made a habit of sitting by themselves during class. I didn't mind. Though I loved George's company, I thought Fred and I had a more special relationship. We had more meaningful conversations. We didn't just talk about the typical topics one could hear around Hogwarts, we talked about everything.  
"So Sara, how are you?" Fred asked as we were reading a chapter of 'One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi'.  
"I'm fine." I didn't look at him as I said this, I stared directly in front of me where a certain group of Hufflepuffs sat.  
"Are you sure? You don't have to worry about Cedric or Harry, you know."  
"I know, I'm not." For the first time, I could honestly say I wasn't worried. "I'm thinking about what the first task may be."  
"Really?" Fred's suspicious features perked up. "I hope they start the Tournament off with something real interesting!"  
"Me too. Hey um, have you talked to Ron lately?"  
"Well yeah," he wrinkled his brow, "he's my brother. We tend to talk."  
"I mean," Eugh, how was I supposed to put this so I didn't look nosey? "Have you talked to him about the Harry situation?"  
"Oh. Yeah, he's still furious with him. He figures that people just think of his as Harry's sidekick and Harry didn't even tell him he put his name into the Goblet."  
Something in my heart ached. At my old school, that's exactly how I felt. My best friend only used me as one more person to be friends with. I felt like a sidekick. Or a tagalong. All I managed to get out was an, "Oh."  
"Yeah, he'll come around."  
"Hopefully."

Later on, in Charms class, when Flitwick told us that we would be learning how to cast the Bubble-Head Charm, I was ecstatic. I'd read about it and always wanted to try it myself, but I never got around to it. Flitwick paired us off to practice the Charm. Luckily, I was paired with George. Fred got paired with a Slytherin girl who I'd recognized sat at the front of our Potions class and I felt a great deal of sympathy for him. As George and I practiced our Bubble-Head Charms, I knew I was casting it correctly with the right wrist movements when a soapy-looking bubble formed around my head.  
"What's it like in there?" George asked. His already lanky body looked quite distorted.  
"It's quite roomy, actually. I think I'll be moving in soon."  
Cedric appeared to be going as well as I was, but George was having some difficulty. His bubble was always too thin and popped within seconds. As he grew more and more frustrated, he almost singed his eyebrows off with the angry blaze that emitted from his wand. Fred and his Slytherin partner both laughed at George's misfortune.

"How much of this stuff am I actually supposed to put in?" I asked Fred, holding up a bottle of Armadillo bile.  
"Not sure." He said, taking the bottle from my hands and pouring half of the bile into his cauldron. Apparently the concentration of Armadillo bile didn't mix well with the Ginger roots and Scarab beetles, because Fred's concoction began to bubble and overflow onto the table.  
"Weasley!" Snape jumped up from his desk and rushed over to our table that was now covered in Fred's potion. "Scourgify!" He pointed his wand at the mess and it began to clean itself up. Snape glared at Fred as though he had committed some vile crime. "Obviously you do not know how to brew a Wit-Sharpening Potion, Mr. Weasley."  


"Oh, the irony." I muttered under my breath. As Snape walked back to his desk, I could swear I saw him smirk at my comment. I couldn't help but grimace.

It wasn't until that night at dinner that I'd been able to talk to the one person I'd wanted to talk to all day. I had sat down at the Gryffindor table between Fred and George and I had gotten myself comfortable before I noticed Cedric trying to wave me down from the opposite end of the Hufflepuff table. He pointed to the empty space next to him and then pointed at me. I nodded.  
"Sorry, I'm going to sit with someone else, is that alright?" I said, not really waiting for an answer.  
"Who are you going to sit with?" asked George.  
"Okay, see you later in the common room, I guess." Fred grinned. I mentally thanked him for allowing me to ignore George's question and I skipped to the other end of the Hufflepuff table.  
"Hey Sara." Cedric greeted.  
"Hi."  
"How have you been?" I knew he didn't care how I'd been, he wanted me to ask him that question. He wanted to talk to me about something.  
"Fine. What about you, mate?"  
Cedric was obviously trying to stifle a laugh. "You said 'mate'."  
"Yeah, so?"  
"I'm still used to 'Canadian Sara'. I have to get used to 'Sara With an Accent'."  
I sighed and laughed. "Anyways..."  
"Anyways, I've been great." He smiled widely and proceeded to continue with an explanation of why he had been great. "The first task is dragons. Potter told me he found out, and both Fleur and Krum know."  
"Dragons?!" I panicked, keeping my voice down as to not ruin the surprise for anyone else. "They're going to make you slay a dragon?!"  
"That's highly doubtful. They're probably getting it to guard something. So I figure, I can stun it, or I can transfigure something around me into something that movies so it can distract the dragon long enough for me to sneak by."  
"That's a good plan." I admitted wholeheartedly.  
"I have a few of those up my sleeve." He smirked and looked down at me. As his gaze met my chest, he furrowed his brow and smiled. "Nice badge."  
I checked to be sure it was a badge supporting him. It was the one that read 'Cedric Diggory:' and then changed to say 'Heartthrob and Hogwarts Champion'. Great. Just perfect. "Um, thanks." I blushed.  
"Heartthrob, eh?"  
"Yeah," I hastily added, "my sister made these."  
"Okay."  
"She did!"  
"I didn't say she didn't."  
"But you're saying it like you don't believe me."  
"Sure."  
"Stop doing that!" I playfully hit his arm and beamed.  
"I like getting you all riled up." He chuckled. "It's funny."  
"Glad to know I amuse you."  
"Oh, you do."

By the end of dinner, I must have looked like a cherry from blushing and smiling all night. Cedric thanked me for talking to him and then set off with his friends. I found Fred and George still eating, so I'd gone to the common room myself to wait for them.  
"Hey," I noticed both Ginny and Lizzy sitting on the sofa by the fire, but Ginny was the one who greeted me.  
"Hi, Ginny."  


"Where were you at dinner?" she asked.  
"No where. I was sitting with someone else." I prayed that my current state of euphoria wasn't heavily obvious.  
"Okay."  
"How was your day?" Lizzy asked me.  
"Pretty good." I nodded. Just thinking of Potions made me smile a bit. "I think Snape is finally beginning to warm up to me."  
"Snape?! Ginny exclaimed. Her neck whipped around so she was looking at me. "Snape likes you?!"  
Oops. I'd forgotten that I wasn't supposed to mention him. "Yeah. Well maybe. It's kind of creepy. I hope it's just a weird phase."  
"Yeah, I've never seen Snape care for any Gryffindors before." Ginny shook her head angrily. "Bloody..."  
I smiled knowing full well I was about to interrupt her. "Git?"


	10. He's Trying to Woo His Admirer

Chapter Ten: He's Trying to Woo His Admirer

"Sara, hurry! Your bed is on fire! Sara, get up!" I leapt out of my bed and tore my eyes open to see my bed perfectly unscathed. Ginny laughed. "Sorry. Fred and George told me to get you up. And you're a really heavy sleeper."  
I shook my bed-head and yawned. "Tell Fred and George they can go to..." That's when I remembered what day it was. "Oh my God, the first task is today!"  
"Yeah, we're waiting for you downstairs. Well, not Harry and Hermione. They've already gone down to the stadium."  
"Alright, I'll be down in a bit."  
Just as I had promised, I had brushed my hair and tied it back in a high ponytail; got dressed into a pair of jeans, a red and white striped t-shirt with my favourite 'Weird Sisters' hoodie on top; and made it down to the common room in fifteen minutes.  
"There you are, Sleepyhead." George smiled as I came walking sluggishly toward the group. He turned to look at Lizzy next to him. "Has she always been this lazy in the morning?"  
"Yeah, pretty much."  
"Too much talking!" Fred complained childishly. "Let's go get good seats."

We trudged down to a stadium much like the Quidditch Stadium at my old school, except the pit in the middle was much deeper and it was filled with large boulders and rocks. We all fit ourselves into a row and waited until the task was only half an hour away.  
"Hey Fred," I nudged his arm and he looked at me. "I'm gonna go check on the Champions. I'll be back. Save my spot, and save one for Hermione, too."  
"Sure."  
"Thanks."  
I was glad I'd worn my sweater. It was fairly chilly outside and who knew how long we'd be out there. I slipped out of the stadium and around back to a tent. I assumed that was the Champions' tent and poked my head in. I'd barely gotten the chance to see anything before an arm pulled me in and had me in such a tight embrace I could barely breath. When I was set free, I looked up to find myself in the arms of Cedric Diggory.  
"Cedric, how are you?"  
"Nervous." I could tell he was because his face looked concentrated, but his voice trembled terribly.  
"You'll be fine. I know you will." I smiled up at him and he smiled back.  
"Thanks." I sucked in my breath and wrapped my arms tightly around him again. When I let go this time, I noticed Hermione and Harry hugging each other as well. They let go of each other and began murmuring, no doubt, about their plan.  
"Hey, Sara!" Hermione waved me over to her.  
"Um," I looked at Cedric again.  
Cedric nodded. "Go."  
I smiled warmly at him and made my way over to Harry and Hermione. "How are you, Harry?"  
"Bloody terrified."  
"Don't worry, just concentrate." Hermione seemed to be reminding him.  
"Yeah."  
"I need to talk to the Champions over here, please." Dumbledore's voice carried throughout the tent. "I would ask any friends of the Champions' to leave now." Hermione hugged Harry one last time and waited for me to be released from Cedric's grip before we left the tent.

We got back to our seats and sure enough, Fred saved two seats next to him. I stood next to Fred and Hermione was next to me. She appeared to be more nervous than Harry was; twitching and shivering uncontrollably. My feet kept tapping the floor beneath me and my hands danced across the wooden panels in front of us. It wasn't because I was nervous, it was because it was a bad habit of mine. I always had to be tapping. It wasn't because I was nervous. Within five minutes, a canon blasted and I 

saw a tall, fit, dirty blonde male step out into the stadium. He wore a yellow and black shirt, and pants to match. The cheering that was heard when he was revealed was unbelievable.  
I stood on my tiptoes and yelled, "Go Cedric! Yeah!" My hands hurt from clapping, but I clapped anyway. He stepped onto the rocky, uneven ground and came face to face with his dragon: a Swedish Short-Snout.  
"Blimey." Ron said, looking at the dragon. It's big eyes were fixed on Cedric.  
"Why isn't he moving?!" I shouted. "Why isn't he doing something?!" He just stared the dragon in the eye for a moment and the whole crowd went silent. That's when Cedric muttered something that I couldn't hear and a jet of white light came streaming out of his wand. It hit one of the rocks and it turned into a black Labrador. Immediately, the dragon looked at the dog that began running around the stadium and Cedric ran towards a large golden egg. That's when the task became easily defined. Get the golden egg. Cedric almost had the egg, when the dragon decided it would much rather have him than the dog. It stomped back to Cedric and a jet of fire came shooting out of its mouth. It caught Cedric's shoulder as he wrapped his other arm around the egg. A gasp from the audience was quickly followed by a huge applause. "Yes! Yes!" I punched my fist in the air and continued clapping. I stopped when I noticed Madam Pomfrey from the Hospital Wing and someone else come running into the stadium and put Cedric on a stretcher. He seemed to be howling in agony with his hands clutching his burned shoulder. He'd be fine...  
The sound of a canon filled the air for the second time and Fleur Delacour stepped into the stadium. Cheering could be heard from the Beauxbatons students in the crowd. She came quite close to her Welsh Green and said a spell that I couldn't hear. Her spell seemed to be putting the dragon into a trance, but as it started to snore, flames flew from its nose and caught her skirt on fire. She put it out quickly with a stream of water from her wand and grabbed the egg with ease. When it was Krum's turn, he shot the Chinese Fireball in the eye with what I knew to be the Conjunctivitis Curse. The dragon's eyes crusted together and it was roaring angrily. Krum snatched the golden egg from amongst the real ones, half of which had been squashed by the dragon's stampeding, and everyone cheered.  
When the canon sounded for the forth time, the crowd was absolutely silent. Harry came out into the stadium and saw his dragon. The Hungarian Horntail was most definitely the scariest-looking dragon, for obvious reasons. Its skin wasn't smooth, its eyes weren't small and its body wasn't covered in scales. Almost every inch of the dragon was covered in spikes. Harry got into the stadium, which was so silent everyone could perfectly hear him scream, "Accio Firebolt!" His broom came flying towards him and he straddled it in mid-flight. Harry soared high above the crowd until the dragon's chain had stretched to its maximum length and he quickly flew to the ground again. The dragon wasn't as fast as Harry, and he grabbed his golden egg smoothly on his descent back to the ground. The crowd applauded more wildly for Harry's performance than for anyone else's. Hermione and Ron both screamed and clapped as loud as they could.

Moments later, both Ron and Hermione were inching away from the stadium, obviously going to visit Harry in the tent.  
"Hermione!" I yelled, grabbing her attention. "Wait up!" She and Ron waited and allowed me to follow them to the tent. Just as I had expected, the tent was opened and separated into cubicles. They found Harry, and Ron started apologizing right away. Ron had been explaining what the other Champions had done as I walked down to the cubicle at the other end of the row.  
"Cedric?" I asked, stepping over to his side of the curtain. The sight pained me to see. His shoulder that had been burned was now covered in a bright orange paste and he had a few cuts on his face as well.  
"Sara." He said weakly.  
"You were amazing!"  
"Thanks."  
"How are you?"  
"Better." It hurt me to see him only able to say one word at a time, but it could have been worse.  
"When should you be better?"  


"Few hours."  
"Oh good."  
"Mr. Diggory and Mr. Potter need some rest now." Madam Pomfrey said, indicating that Ron, Hermione and I had to leave.  
"I'll see you later, Cedric." I rested my hand on top of his and gently squeezed it.  
"Bye Sara."  
"Get better."  
"I will."

That night, there was a party in the Gryffindor common room. Harry was perfectly healthy as he jumped around the common room in his state of hyperness. He'd just informed everyone that the clue for the next task was in the egg and Fred and George hoisted him up onto their shoulders.  
"Who wants me to open it?" Harry asked, getting quite the response from his housemates. "Do you want me to open it?" He got a louder cheer this time. Harry turned the device on top of the egg that held it shut and the shell fell apart in his palm. The minute it opened, a loud shrieking came from the glass oval that was hidden inside the egg.  
"Oh dear God!" I screamed. Everyone covered their ears, even Fred and George, who dropped Harry on the floor just to do so. Harry quickly closed the egg up again.  
"What was that?" growled the unknown sandy-haired boy.  
"Sounded like Percy singing in the shower." Ron joked. I recognized Percy as the name of another Weasley child and laughed.  
Once the common room had cleared, Fred and I sat alone together on our sofa in front of the fireplace.  
"Long day, wasn't it?" he said, looking into the flames.  
"Very." I agreed.  
"So, are you ready to admit you like Diggory yet?" he chuckled.  
"I don't. He's one of my best friends. I just can't..."  
Fred cocked an eyebrow and grinned. "So if you weren't friends..."  
"Yes."  
"I knew it!"  
"Quiet."  
"Sara and Cedric sitting in a tree..."  
"Shut up."  
"Don't worry, Sara. You're beautiful, smart and very friendly. If he doesn't feel the same way about you, he's mad. Any guy would be lucky to have you, Sweet."  
"Thanks Fred." I said, hoping he wouldn't see my blushing. "You're a great friend."  
"I know." He put his arm around me and smirked. "I try."  
"Hey, where's George?" I noticed that recently he hadn't been hanging out with us.  
"I think he's trying to woo his admirer."  
"Who would that be?"  
"It's not my place to tell you, but you'll find out soon enough."  
And soon enough, it was. George came through the portrait hole with his arm draped around Katie's shoulder.


	11. It's Such an Inspiration

Chapter Eleven: It's Such an Inspiration

"We're going to Hogsmeade today!"

"Where's Hogsmeade and why are we going there?" I asked. My old school had never really let us go on field trips before.

"It's a small village just outside the school grounds." said George, kind of reminding me of Hermione and her tendency to sound like a textbook.

"But I don't get it, why are we going?"

Ginny decided to explain their reasoning in greater detail. "We're allowed to go into Hogsmeade every once and a while. It's quite interesting, so I've heard. I've never been, myself."

"You haven't?"

"No. This is the first year I'm allowed. Only third years and up can go."

"Oh, so Lizzy can't come?"

"No, sorry."

"I wouldn't worry too much about her, mate." Fred said, nudging me with his elbow. "I think she's been making friends, herself."

Sure enough, I glanced across the common room to see Lizzy sitting on a red sofa with a first year girl with shoulder length, neatly trimmed black hair and a wide smile on her face, and a boy with wavy blonde hair and a camera in his hand. Lizzy saw me looking at her and waved me over. I hoped that she would introduce me to her new friends, although I doubted they'd get in with our group. "Hi Sara!" She said excitedly. "This is my big sister, Sara." Lizzy told her friends, looking as though she was going to jump out of her own skin. "Sara, these are my friends, Natalie McDonald and Dennis Creevy."

"Hello." They mumbled shyly.

"Nice to meet you." I smiled at them and then looked back at Lizzy. "I've gotta go with Fred, George and Ginny to Hogsmeade now." When her smiling face turned into a slight frown, I added, "Don't worry, I'll get you something."

"Thanks!" she grinned again. "Have fun!"

"You too."

Ginny had left us to spend the day with her own friends, so it left me alone with Fred and George. It may not have been snowing, but everyone was in thick jackets, long pants, and even gloves and scarves. Fred and George were wearing jeans and sweaters, and they each sported a hat that had flaps coming down over their ears, braided wool hanging down from the flaps, and a pompom on top. I had chosen to wear jeans, my usual 'Weird Sisters' hoodie and thin black gloves with a matching thin, wool scarf.

Once we'd stepped into the town, I smiled at the sight. Bright little shops lined the streets and everyone moved quickly in and out of them to get out of the bitter cold.

"Where to first, Fred?" asked George, motioning to the village before us.

"I was thinking Zonko's." Fred smirked.

"So was I."

"What's Zonko's?" I was too late to ask. Fred already had me by the hand as to not lose me, and was tugging me through the crowd to the shop in question. As soon as my nose had begun to lose feeling, we turned into the warmth of a shop and I watched, amused, as Fred and George's faces lit up immensely. The shop was filled with brightly coloured gadgets and warning labels posted on the walls.

"This is Zonko's." George grinned. "It's the best joke shop in the world."

"Joke shop, eh?" I smirked. Of course. Why would they have taken me anywhere else?

"It's such an inspiration." Fred joked, wiping away a fake tear. I had a feeling that he was some truth to his joke, though. I think this shop may had given them the idea to start their own little business up. I'd be lying if I said that I was extremely intrigued by everything in the store, so I waited patiently for Fred and George to have finished having their fun.

"Okay, I'm sensing that you're bored." George said to me as he tried on some kind of novelty hat that changed colour.

"No, I'm fine here."

"No, you're not." Fred pointed out. Literally, he pointed at me. "Where do you want to go?"

"I dunno. What've you got here in Hogsmeade?"

"There's quite a few things, actually." Fred responded. "There's Honeydukes sweet shop and the Shrieking Shack..."

"Let's go to both of those!" I leapt back to life at once. I loved getting scared, and I had quite the sweet tooth.

"Alright," George laughed. "Let's get the story of the Shrieking Shack over and done with first, I don't think it's going to get any warmer outside."

We pushed our way through the small streets packed with people into a small clearing. In the clearing, there was a flat-topped, wooden fence, but it's what was beyond the fence that had caught my eye. Beyond the fence was a small, battered house. Its window shutters were barely hanging onto their hinges and there were many missing shingles from the roof.

"So, why exactly is it called the 'Shrieking Shack'?" I asked, anticipating their scary story.

"Well," George began, putting on a very panic-stricken face to play the part of the terrified storyteller. "It's said that as many witches and wizards have passed this Shrieking Shack, they've heard screaming coming from inside of it." George made his way behind me and gripped my right shoulder. He bent down so his head was level with mine.

"Naturally." I smiled. Was this supposed to be scary?

"But no one has ever seen anyone go into the Shrieking Shack before." Fred gasped, then grabbed my left shoulder and bent down to level with George and I. "No one has ever seen anyone go in, and no one has seen anyone come out."

"They say that something inside the house waits for young witches to come wandering carelessly by..." George's voice seemed to carry off into the distance where the little house was perched.

"And then," Fred continued, his eyes were wide as his sapphire blue orbs gazed uneasily into my brown ones. "The beast that lurks within will come out and eat you!" As Fred shouted his last words, George had forcefully grabbed at my arm. I didn't realize it was him at the time, and I jumped into Fred's arms with a loud squeal. Both twins burst into a fit of laughter, but Fred continued to hug me.

"Gotcha." George smirked, then began to giggle again.

"I wasn't scared!" I protested, my voice being muffled by Fred's jacket.

Fred let me wriggle free and he beamed down at me. "Of course you weren't, you just wanted a reason to get close to this." He pointed to his body and I chuckled.

"Oh yeah, that's definitely it."

"Well I don't know about you two," George said, "but I'm in the mood to go to Honeydukes."

As soon as they saw my face perk up at the thought of being surrounded be sweets, Fred smiled. "Let's go then."

As soon as Fred and George had directed me to Honeydukes, my face must have looked like an eager child's might. I had pushed the door open and ran towards the first shelf I'd seen. There was too many different sweets to focus on for me to really take in my surroundings.

"Someone looks happy." George commented. I ignored him for a box of Chocolate Frogs. "You know Fred, I don't think I've ever seen Sara this exhilarated before."

"Oh, I think I may have." Fred winked at me and then browsed the shelves himself. I wasn't sure if he was talking about the time I'd come back from my night with Cedric or not, but at that point, it didn't matter.

"Are you boys going to get anything?" I asked, both my hands filled with the sugary treats I had intended to purchase. I remembered that I'd promised Lizzy I'd buy her something, so I picked out a few Chocolate Frogs and Liquorice Wands. She preferred the more plain flavours to the exotic ones of Every Flavoured Beans or Blood Lollipops, which were my personal favourites.

They each held up a few boxes of sweets and grinned. "Yeah." Fred said. "It's been a while since I've treated myself." I'd realized over the course of knowing them that the Weasley family wasn't loaded with galleons, but Fred and George seemed better off than Ron or Ginny, thanks to the selling of their homemade merchandise.

The three of us left the warm scents of Honeydukes only to be welcomed by the cool atmosphere of the streets. My long hair had been whipped around quite a bit by the wind, so I tied it back with a single hair tie. As we walked along the crisp, crowded roads, I found that I was shivering slightly. Apparently I wasn't the only one to notice how cold I'd gotten. I quickly wished I'd worn something heavier than my hoodie.

"Sara, are you alright?" Fred asked me. "You look like you're freezing."

"Yeah, it's okay."

"No look, your ears are red. Here, take my hat."

"No, I... Okay, thanks." Fred had removed his hat and carefully pulled it over my head. It was still warm inside having just left its previous wearers head. I knew that I probably looked goofy with the braided wool hanging off the ear flaps and the pompom sitting right on top of my crown, but I really appreciated his generosity. I straightened the ear flaps and smiled up at him.

"Bouncy." He patted the top of the pompom and beamed as his hand sprung up and down easily on the fabric.

We'd been sitting outside for quite a while before I was aware that a tall figure sporting a cream coloured coat was walking towards us.

"Hey there." The speaker was none other than Cedric.

Fred and George clapped him on the back and smiled warmly, but my "Hello Cedric" was very powerless. Although my greeting lacked enthusiasm, it didn't go unnoticed.

"What have you three been up to?" He asked, smirking at our bags. I had two small bags from Honeydukes, but Fred and George each had a few bags from Zonko's.

"Just bought a few things." I explained. "Went to Zonko's and Honeydukes."

"And the Shrieking Shack." George interjected with a sneer.

"Oh yeah, how could I have forgotten?" My voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"Dunno." Fred admitted. "We scared the hell out of you."

The three of us began to laugh and Cedric joined in. "Sounds like you had a fun day."

"Yeah."

"I was just wondering," Cedric began hesitantly, "if you two would mind if I stole Sara for the rest of the evening."

"Yeah, go ahead." Fred smiled at me specifically. "Have fun."

I gave him a grateful smile and walked off down the street with Cedric by my side.

"I didn't really get to tell you properly before," I began, "but you were amazing during the first task."

"Thanks." Cedric smiled, but continued to look just ahead of him.

"How are you feeling?"

"Much better." He admitted.

"Good."

He kept moving through the crowd, but took the time to look at what I was wearing. "Nice hat." he smirked.

"Thanks... Oh!" I'd just recollected the fact that I was still wearing Fred's hat. "It's Fred's."

He chuckled. "It looks good on you." I didn't have time to reply, because he had tugged me by the elbow into what appeared to be a small pub. We sat down at a small circular table for two and had to have been sitting for no longer than a minute before a fairly tall witch in teal robes came bustling over to us.

"Welcome to The Three Broomsticks." she said, very routinely. "What can I get you two this evening?"

"Can we get two butterbeers?" Cedric ordered for us.

"Sure, I'll be back in a bit with your drinks."

"Thanks." After the lady had left, I pulled a handful of gold out of my pocket and began to count, but Cedric shook his head. "It's okay, I've got it." Without a word, I put the gold back in my pocket and then crossed my legs.

"Do you understand the clue from the egg yet?" I finally asked.

"No, not yet." He confessed, now looking directly into my eyes. "It's just a bunch of nonsense." There was an inconsiderable silence before he added. "Does Harry have it yet?"

"Not that I know of, no."

"Oh, okay." He seemed a bit more relieved after I told him that.

"So er, have you heard from your dad yet?" I asked, hoping my question wasn't too personal.

"Yeah, he wrote to me the night after I got chosen."

"He must be proud that his son is the Hogwarts Champion." I grinned.

"He is."

"You know," I sighed before taking a big step in admitting the truth to him, "I was really scared for you when you said you were entering your name. But now I know that you're going to be the one to gain eternal glory and win this whole thing."

"Really?" His neutral characteristics turned into cheerful ones and I thought I saw his cheeks start to turn pink. "How do you know that?"

"I just have a feeling."

"Here's your drinks, dears." The witch had returned with a glass of butterbeer for each of us.

"Thanks." Cedric smiled, handed her a few silver coins and she went back to her place behind the bar.

"I'd like to make a toast," I said to an imaginary crowd of people, "to Cedric Diggory: the Triwizard Champion!"

We clinked our glasses together and took a sip, then Cedric smirked and said, "Don't you mean 'Heartthrob and Hogwarts Champion'?" He chuckled as I stopped drinking immediately and my eyes went wide.

"No." I said, sure of my answer. "I meant 'Triwizard Champion'."

"Oh, alright."

"Why?"

"I dunno. I thought I was a heartthrob."

"Says who?"

"Says you."

"I didn't say it!"

"You didn't have to."

It was nearing nine o'clock and we had to get back to the castle before it was lights out.

"If you find out the hint to that egg, let me know, eh?"

"I will." Cedric leaned closer to me. "Goodnight, Sara." He bent his face down to mine and gently touched his lips to my cheek.

I'd woken up in the morning very euphoric from the previous night's events and I was good at keeping the secret right up until I saw Cedric at breakfast that morning with his arm around a Ravenclaw girl's waist.


	12. He's a Sweet Kid

Chapter Twelve: He's a Sweet Kid

"What is he doing with her?" I hissed in Fred's ear as I watched Cedric's arm coil itself around the Ravenclaw girl's waist. She was really pretty, too. She had olive skin, catlike eyes and straight black hair that was barely longer than mine. "How could he fully kiss me on the cheek and then start flirting with her?" My heart broke just thinking that the kiss he gave me last night at our usual departing stairwell might not have meant anything to him.

Fred sighed. It was rare that I saw him look serious, but when I saw it, I recognized it immediately. "Sara, don't worry. I mean, it's Cedric Diggory."

"Your point being?"

"Look at him." And I did. "Lots of girls think he's attractive. He's a flirt. You won't know exactly what he thinks of you unless he tells you directly."

"I suppose." I bit hard on a piece of bacon as I glared at the Ravenclaw, who was now jabbering away with her friends at their house's table.

"Hey listen," Fred said in a calming voice. "No matter what Cedric thinks of you, whether it be just a friend or more, you know George and I will always be here."

I smirked at him as his innocent eyes studied mine. "Thank you so much." All he could do was smile in response before George and Katie approached us and sat across from us at the Gryffindor table. They were holding hands. I wasn't planning on making a comment, seeing as how I didn't know the precise stage of their relationship, but then George gave her a quick peck on the lips. "When did this happen?" I asked them with a huge grin spread across my face.

"Yesterday, actually." Fred answered for them. "When you left us last night to go see Cedric, Katie joined us... So naturally, I left to find Ginny." He gave me a wink and Katie smirked.

"Yeah." George smiled sheepishly. "I hope it's okay with you two that Katie may be with us quite a bit now."

I laughed as Fred looked angrily in Katie's direction. "Yeah, we mind. Thanks for asking, mate." Then his bitter face became serene. "Of course we don't mind, do we Sara?"

"Not at all." I grinned. "Katie and I are already pretty good friends." Katie smirked timidly at my remark, and the four of us sat and ate the rest of our breakfast in silence.

"Everyone, I have an announcement to make before you leave!" Professor McGonagall called to the class, causing us all to stop getting ready to go to our next class and sit back down. "On Christmas night, Hogwarts will be holding the Yule Ball." At the sound of the word 'ball', most of the class moaned. I was excited. A dance? It sounded like fun! "Now, now," McGonagall said, attempting to calm her students down. "The Yule Ball has been a tradition of the Triwizard Tournament since its inception. It will include a night of well-mannered dinner and dancing. I hope to see you all there."

"A ball?" George asked as he, Fred, Katie and I left the classroom and headed to Defence Against the Dark Arts. "Katie, do you want to go?"

Katie blushed a furious shade of magenta and nodded. "Yes." she squeaked. After getting to know her, Katie seemed to be a very shy and quiet witch. I think it was just around George, though, because we frequently had upbeat conversations when he wasn't present.

Fred waited for George and Katie to walk ahead of us before asking me, "Are you going with Cedric?"

"I dunno." I admitted truthfully. "Should I ask him about it?"

"No." Fred said without hesitation. "If he wants to go with you, he'll ask. I mean, you don't want to come off too strong."

"Right." I smiled. "Thanks."

"Anytime."

Fred's advice was hard to stick to. I'd seen Cedric everyday, and he didn't ever mention anything to me about the upcoming dance. I thought maybe he was just nervous. As the week before the ball had approached, I realized that if I wanted to go to the ball with someone, I'd have to do the asking myself. Whilst I thought about my decision to ask someone, I noticed just how depressing it was that I couldn't 

get a date. I'd determined that I was fed up with the male species, when I saw Cedric walking into the Great Hall for dinner one night. He looked very entranced by something.

On my way down the marble staircase, I left Fred's side and skipped ahead to tap Cedric on the shoulder. "Hey," I said, making him look over his shoulder at me. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, sure." I pulled him by the elbow over to an emptier corner of the Entrance Hall to ensure that we couldn't be overheard.

"Um, have you figured out the egg yet?" My attempt to start conversation was pretty lame, due to the fact that I'd asked him the same question earlier that morning, but I couldn't just come out and ask him.

"Nope." The grin on his face was wider than ever.

"Oh." Here I go. "Well do you have a date for the Yule Ball yet?"

The one word that he replied with made my heart beat faster and out of pace. "Yes."

"Ah." I tried hard not to cry, and so far it was working.

"Do you?"

"No, not yet."

"Really?" Cedric furrowed his brow.

"You seem surprised."

"It's just... I always thought Fred would have asked you."

"Fred?" I forced a chuckle at the thought. "Why?"

"Well, George is with Katie, you see."

"No, I mean why did you suspect Fred out of everybody in the school?"

"I dunno."

"Okay." I felt my tears begin to surface. "Well, I should get going." And without another word, I ran into the Great Hall and towards my usual place at the Gryffindor table. Quickly wiping my tears away, I sat unhappily next to Katie.

"Hey, how are you?" she asked, obviously sensing something about me was out of place.

"I'm fine." I sighed and added, "Dateless, but fine."

"Seriously?" she was almost as shocked as Cedric. "Still?"

"Still what?" asked George. Immediately, both twins were listening intently.

"I still don't have anyone to go to the ball with." Fred, who had earlier seen me leave with Cedric appeared to know exactly what happened, and my traces of tears could only mean that he turned me down.

After everyone's meals had been hungrily devoured, a group of about twelve Gryffindor students stood up simultaneously and exited the Great Hall. As we walked up the staircases to reach our common room, everyone seemed to be having a conversation, smiling and laughing with their friends while I lingered behind alone, thinking only of my current heartbreak. Fred stopped walking and fell back so he was beside me and then nudged my arm half-heartedly.

"Hey Sara."

"Hi." I said shortly.  
"How are you?"

"Couldn't be better." My comment was dripping with sarcasm.

"That's good."

"Yep."

"Cedric is a ruddy pumpkin head." Fred smirked at the floor as he talked.

"Why would you say that?"

"How could he not ask you to the ball?"

"He fancies that Ravenclaw girl, I suppose."

"Well, the girl I fancy is still free."

"Really?" I smiled a bit. "Why don't you take her?"

"I know for a fact she doesn't fancy me."

"Oh." He was going through the same thing I was, and I knew how hard it was to know you had to get over the one person you've always liked.

"Sara?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to go to the ball with me?"

My heart stopped. All of this unusual malfunctioning of a vital organ had to cease, or I may have died. "Seriously?"

"Yeah." He smiled innocently. "I mean, we can go as friends, right?"

"Sounds like fun." I grinned.

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes." Fred gave me a hug and smiled. I would have much rather gone to the ball with my best friend than gone alone.

That's when I felt a small hand reach up and tap my shoulder. "Sara?"

I turned on my heel to see Lizzy. "Hi Liz!"

"I heard Fred just asked you to the ball." I noticed Fred had gone ahead to talk to George and Katie. She smiled, but there was something about it that was still sad.

"Yeah, who are you going with?"

Her fake smile dissolved into a frown. "Well I can't go unless someone in fourth year or above asks me, can I?"

"Oh... is that how it works?"

Lizzy sighed. "I'll never be able to wear my dress..."

We reached the common room and most of the group staggered wearily straight up to bed. Only Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and I stayed up to chat about recent events.

"Bloody hell." Ron sighed crossly and sunk into his own red chair.

"What is it?" I asked, concerned with my friend's current state.

"Hermione's got a date for the ball, Neville's taking Ginny. At this rate, Harry and I will be the only ones without someone to go with." There was a moment of realization before Ron added, "Sara! What do you say? Do you want to go to the ball with me?"

I chuckled and shook my head. I felt sympathy for Ron and his desperation to get a date. "Sorry, I'm already going with someone."

"Who?" Harry asked with a smirk. "Cedric?"

My eyes widened. "No." Then I paused, furrowed my brow and asked my existing question. "Why would you think I was going with Cedric?"

"Oh come off it." Hermione giggled and prodded my arm. "It was so obvious you fancied him."

"We're not stupid, you know." Ginny winked from my other side. I just sighed.

That's when I decided to mention my brilliant idea and change the subject. "Hey Ron, why don't you ask Lizzy to the ball? She'd love to go with you."

A look of disgust was dominant on his face. "Lizzy? But she's a first year."

"So? Come on, she really likes you and you need a date."

"At least I would still have my dignity if I went alone."

"Hey, that's my little sister!"

"Sorry Sara, but I'm not asking Lizzy. She's only eleven."

Just then, a set of tear-filled eyes could be seen poking out from the girls' dormitory. They quickly disappeared. "Oh no." Ginny said as Lizzy had ran away at the sight of us looking back at her. "Good going, you prat." Ginny hissed at Ron.

"Bloody hell, Ginny! I didn't know she was actually listening!"

"It's fine, she'll find someone." I said, not truly believing my own words. "So Hermione, who is this mystery man that's taking you to the ball?"

"You'll see." I smirked back at her. I didn't want anyone to know I was going with Fred yet, because they would have thought I couldn't get a date, so we went as friends. Although that really is how it happened, I hoped no one would find that out. "And Ginny, you're going with Neville?"

"Well, I can't go unless someone a year older asks me. I figured I could go with him."

"He's a sweet kid." I smiled. "I can see why you said yes." There was a pause before I added, "Well, I can't wait to see you all at the ball." I stood from the sofa and made my way wearily to my bed. 

As I ascended the steps to the sixth year dormitory, my stomach was doing somersaults. I was beginning to get very anxious about Christmas night and what it may have had in store for me.


	13. Don't Let This Magic Die

Chapter Thirteen: Don't Let This Magic Die

I woke up on Christmas morning wishing for it to be a good day, and it began like good days typically do. As I sat up in bed, I noticed a pile of neatly wrapped gifts sitting on top of my trunk at the foot of the bed. Since I was the only person in the dormitory, I didn't hesitate in ripping open the presents. Honestly, I hadn't expected to get that many gifts, but I did.

George had given me a box of my favourite Blood Pops and Every Flavoured Beans, which I looked forward to tearing into; Lizzy had made me a 'Weird Sisters' patch for my denim book bag; Harry, Ron and Neville had all pitched in to get me a very nice, thick winter jacket, which I was thankful for; but I did have my favourite gifts of them all.

Cedric had given me parchment, a sparkly silver quill and the most beautiful black ink bottle I'd ever seen; Hermione got me a book of Charms; Ginny, a book of Potions; and Katie got me a copy of Quidditch Through the Ages that had been signed by Viktor Krum; and Mrs. Weasley sent me a personally knit, deep purple sweater.

Only two gifts came with a note attached: one was a camera from Fred, and the other was from my parents. The note from Fred read,

_Merry Christmas, Sara!_

_You can take as many pictures as you want with this and develop the film in a special potion so the pictures can move. Ginny added the potion to the back of the book she got you._

_Hope you like it,_

_Love Fred_

The other noted gift sat alone at the end of the bed. I read the card first.

_Sara,_

_Merry Christmas! We hope school is going well. Write more often! We got you this to wear at the Yule Ball. You'll be the most beautiful witch in the room, darling._

_We hope you like it. Have fun!_

_Love Mum and Dad_

I carefully opened the pale blue, velvet box to see a simple, silver chain necklace with a small ruby heart hanging from it. I gasped aloud and closed the velvet box right away. There was no need to get it dusty before the ball.

I briskly got changed into a pair of jeans and my new purple sweater and ran down to the common room.

"Blimey!" I heard Fred exclaim. "Mum sent you a jumper, too?" He chuckled. As he approached me, I noticed he also wore a hand-knit sweater. His was navy blue and bore the letter F knit in gold.

"Yeah." I grinned. "But I like yours much better."

"Was that sarcasm?"

"Not at all."

"Why, thank you." He posed much like a model in a magazine would and then laughed. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas." I smiled as he hugged me tightly.

"Thanks for the gift." he grinned widely. I smiled as I remembered that I'd given him a whole bunch of random Zonko's merchandise and a new winter hat, so I could keep his old one.

"Yeah, thanks for the camera."

"No problem. I tried to get a smaller one so you didn't have to lug a giant thing to the ball with you. You can stick it in your handbag."

"Wasn't that considerate of you?" I grinned.

"Oh here, I forgot." Fred reached under the Christmas tree in front of the fireplace and picked out a flat present. "I forgot to give this to you."

I ripped it open to reveal a black photo album. "Oh, it's really nice!"

"It wasn't until after I bought the camera that I realized you'd need somewhere to put all your photos." Fred chuckled.

"Well how about I start getting some photos?" I stood next to Fred and rested my head in the crook of his neck, then I held the camera in front of us and clicked the button to take a picture. "There."

The rest of the day was mostly spent outside in the snow, but as it neared six o'clock, Ginny, Katie and I left the boys to throw snow at each other and rushed up to the common room to get ready for the ball at eight. Hermione began to get ready at five because she needed three hours for something. I assumed it was to tame her hair. Upon entering the common room, we noticed Lizzy carelessly sprawled out on a red sofa.

"Lizzy?" I asked cautiously. She just flopped over so she was facing me. "Are you okay?" She nodded. "Okay, well we'll be in the dormitory if you want to talk..." Without a word, she flopped back over and shoved her face into a cushion.

"I hope she's alright." Ginny sighed as the three of us ascended the stairs to the girls dormitories. "I mean, she's probably depressed because Ron didn't ask her to the ball."

"Oh yeah, is he actually going with someone?" I asked, secretly hoping he was going alone.

"He and Harry are taking Parvati and Padma Patil." answered Ginny. Parvati and Padma were identical twins, like Fred and George, but Padma got sorted into Ravenclaw and Parvati, into Gryffindor. They were both very pretty.

"Oh." Damn. How was he supposed to feel guilty if he was taking someone?

Katie, Ginny and I helped each other get our hair done until it was seven-thirty, and I got dressed into my evening gown. Once I was finished preparing myself for that night's festivities, I studied myself in the full-length mirror. My thin strapped red dress clung to me tightly until it reached my waist, where it slightly left my body and seemed to flow to the floor. I wore silver, high heeled shoes and carried a matching silver clutch that contained the camera Fred gave me. My hair was mostly tied up in a bun, except for two bits at the front that hung down in loose curls. The ruby heart necklace that my parents gave me was draped around my neck and fell perfectly in the v-neck of the gown. I thought I looked good, but I couldn't wait to see Fred's reaction.

I sighed and carefully descended the stairs to the common room. My dress was about an inch and a half from the floor, but with my luck, I would have tripped on the hem five times before the night was over. I made it to the foot of the stairs and hesitantly looked up to see Fred, George, Katie, Ginny and Neville all gazing at me. Fred approached me and grinned.

"You look beautiful." He said calmly, taking my hand.

"Thanks." I smiled and blushed. Fred looked quite stunning himself in his new black dress robes. I took notice in just how pretty Ginny and Katie looked in their dresses as well. "You look very handsome, yourself." I said, focusing my attention back on my date.

George, who wore dress robes matching those of his twin's replied, "Thank you."

"George, shut up." Katie lightly brushed her hand against his shoulder as if trying to hit him, and then smiled.

"So is milady ready to go to the ball?" Fred asked, offering me his arm to take. I giggled in a girlish way that was very much unlike myself and wove my arm through his. Katie and George had their arms around each others waist and the four of us headed out of the common room. As we all flooded out of the portrait, I glanced back at Ginny and Neville who followed behind at a slow pace. Neville sheepishly slid his hand around Ginny's and they began to speed walk to catch up with us.

I took a great intake of air at the sight before me. Icicles hung from the ceiling and snow fell to the marble floor, vanishing before it could reach anyone's head. Everything in the Great Hall was white and silver: the tables, the chairs, the Christmas trees, the stage...

"Wow, it's amazing." Fred beamed, his hand now clutching onto mine in anxiety. Instead of blocking others from entering the Great Hall, Fred and I decided to cautiously place ourselves at a corner table nearest the stage. The whole Hall looked so delicate, the dance floor looked as though it was made 

of ice. I couldn't see Cedric, Harry or Hermione anywhere, but I did see three very familiar couples coming our way: Katie and George, Neville and Ginny, and Ron and Padma Patil. The first thing I noticed about Ron was the disgusted look on his face. I'm not sure whether it was because he was dissatisfied with his date, or if his hand-me-down dress robes were the problem, but whatever it was, I had a feeling it was going to ruin his night.

"Hullo." Fred greeted, immediately failing to stifle a chuckle at the sight of Ron's frayed dress robes.

The tips of Ron's ears turned red as his date politely smiled and raised her hand to wave at us. "Hi."

I knew exactly who Padma was, but we hadn't been formally introduced, so I gained confidence and took the lead. "Padma right?"

"Yes." She looked at me and smiled.

"Hi, I'm Sara." I held out my hand, she shook it and nodded her head.

It wasn't until it was almost eight o'clock that I realized how full the Hall was getting. I even took notice that there were instruments on the stage and almost every chair had someone sitting in it. I was just about to ask Fred where Harry, Hermione and Cedric were when Dumbledore got up on the stage and began to speak.

"Attention!" Within seconds, the Hall was silent and Dumbledore continued his speech. "It is nice to see you all here. I would like everyone to stand and give a lovely, warm welcome to the four Triwizard Champions!" At once, I got to my feet and followed everyone in lining the currently empty dance floor. As Fred stood behind me, I realized how short I felt next to him. I barely came up to his chin. I was glancing at my feet tapping the glass surface of the dance floor with anticipation when everyone started cheering. From where I was standing, I could easily see all four Champions walking one behind the other towards the glassy floor, linking arms with their date. First, Cedric emerged with the Ravenclaw girl, who I must admit, looked very beautiful in her golden, Chinese gown. I continued clapping as Fleur and her own Ravenclaw date made their way to the dance floor. Krum was next in line, and next to him was a very familiar-looking girl smiling as brightly as the Great Hall had been decorated.

"Blimey, is that Hermione?" I heard myself gasp.

"I can't believe Krum asked her!" Fred said, sounding happy that our friend had gotten such a popular date.

Finally, bringing up the rear was Harry and Parvati. Harry appeared to be very bored, while Parvati waved happily to the crowd of people welcoming them.

The band that had inconspicuously gotten into place on stage had begun to play a lively classical tune, the cue for the four Champions to begin their graceful steps across the floor. Well, at least three of the Champions looked graceful. Harry and Parvati seemed to be struggling a bit. Merlin love him, he tried so hard. The song must have only been thirty seconds in when Dumbledore and McGonagall stepped in and began sweeping across the dance floor with the others. I looked around at who the next couple to dance may be, but I would have never expected it to be Neville and Ginny. She looked adorable in her pale blue and pink dress as Neville took her in his arms and lead her in a complex pattern I wasn't aware he was capable of.

About then, I felt a tap on my right shoulder. "Would you like to dance?" Fred held out his hand delicately, as if my own were made of porcelain. With only a smile, I placed my hand in his and he took me to the center of the glassy floor. I had never been ballroom dancing before, and I quickly wished I'd taken whatever lessons Neville had. I was trying hard not to trip over my dress as Fred lead me quickly in large circles. It seemed more as though I was running as opposed to dancing. Maybe it didn't look as silly as it felt. I was just getting used to the steps when the song abruptly finished, and everyone applauded the band.

Dumbledore joined the band on stage, looking quite flustered, merely to say, "Dinner is now served."

"Well, Mr. Weasley. I must say, you are one talented dancer." I grinned as our usual group, minus Hermione, sat around one of the tables set out for the Ball, just finishing up our meals.

Fred laughed. "Yeah, alright."

"I'm serious."

"You're not so bad yourself."

"I had no idea what I was doing!" I argued with a large smile spread across my face.

"And you think I did?" He smirked at my lack of response. As I pretended to be angry with Fred, I turned to the person next to me in hopes of some interesting conversation, but because George and Katie were wrapped up in their own little world, it was a lost cause.

That's when I heard a very familiar voice say, "Hey Sara." from behind me. I pivoted in my chair to see exactly who I thought I was going to.

"Hi Cedric."

"How is your night so far?" His smile didn't give me the usual feeling it did, but it was nice to know he was happy.

"Quite good, actually." I hoped I didn't sound too surprised. I knew I would have a good time going to the Ball with Fred. "How about you?"

"Brilliant." He beamed. "Actually, I came over here to ask if you wanted to meet my girlfriend."

Of course, the word 'girlfriend' made my heart twist with jealousy, but to be honest, I was falling out of love with Cedric. He really was becoming just a very good friend. "Yeah, that would be nice." I forced a smile on my face and stood next to him. "Be right back." I added to Fred, before rushing off to a table only three away from our own.

Cedric led me through the crowd to his currently empty seat, and one next to it filled by the Ravenclaw girl. "Sara, this is my girlfriend, Cho Chang." She allowed his hand to rest on her shoulder, as her long, black hair was held up in chopsticks. "Cho, this is my best friend Sara."

It was nice to hear that he thought of me as his best friend. "Hi." I squeaked.

"Hello. Nice to finally meet you." Cho had an amazing Irish accent. Surprisingly, my jealousy faded. Even more surprisingly, I immediately began to like Cho Chang. "Cedric's told me all about you."

"Really?" I smirked slyly at Cedric as he chuckled. "Well, he's decided to keep you a secret until tonight." Her smile began to melt into a guilty expression. She must not have understood I didn't mean it in a bad way. "Don't worry. It's nice to have finally met you."

"Yeah. So, who did you come to the Ball with?" When she didn't get an answer right away, she quickly added, "I hope I don't sound too forward."

"No, it's fine. I came with Fred. Fred Weasley. ...Which reminds me, I should be getting back to him." My sentence drifted off as I tried to peek back at our table to see what my date was doing.

"Oh, not at all. I'll see you later, then."

"Bye Cho. Bye Cedric!"

As I approached the table, I noticed that both Harry and Ron were sulking around. Probably due to the fact that Parvati and Padma had left them to dance with two boys from Durmstrang. Both Ginny and Neville chose to sit around and talk for a bit before they started dancing, and Katie and George were nowhere to be seen. Fred sat anxiously with his hands on his knees waiting for my return, so when he saw me, he jumped up.

"Sara!" He flung his arms around me and gave me an almost bone-crushing hug.

"Ow."

"George and Katie left, and Ron and Harry were being bloody sad sacks, and I was all by myself." Fred pouted as he rambled on, ignoring Harry and Ron's faces at the sound of their names.

"Well, it looks like the music should be starting again soon." I noted, observing someone bring a guitar and a few unrecognizable instruments on stage. For the last time that night, Dumbledore got up on the stage to make an announcement.

"I hope that everyone enjoyed their dinner. Now, I would like you to give a hearty welcome to a more popular band that you all should be familiar with... The Weird Sisters!" Dumbledore had barely gotten his sentence out before my jaw had already dropped and my eyes had reached maximum size.

"You have got to be kidding me!" I squealed, grabbing both of Fred's hands in my own. "The Weird Sisters are here?!"

Fred didn't have the time to answer, for a large group of musicians wearing, what looked like, fur coats had gathered on stage. The skinniest man of the group had long, brown hair and he wasn't carrying an instrument. Instead, he approached the microphone set in the center of the stage nearest the audience.

"Alright!" He shouted into the microphone, causing a loud cheer to erupt from the delicate Hall. Both Fred and I were on our feet already. "Who's ready to rock?!" Another cheer shook the icicles. The bass guitar kicked in and every wizard in the room was yelling. I didn't even take into account how odd I looked: wearing my long, evening gown and punching my fist in the air to the beat, but it didn't matter how odd I looked, it only mattered how happy I was with Fred jumping up and down next to me. I noticed Cedric and Cho dancing not but a few feet away and gave them an anxious smile. The whole scene was magnificent and I couldn't believe it was an actuality.

Once the song had ended abruptly, Fred and I fell onto our seats with laughter.

"That was fun!" Fred exclaimed. "I've never been to a concert before."

"Neither have I." I admitted. The statement was a sad one, but as it escaped my lips, the smile did not leave my features. As I caught my breath again, relaxation came over me and I smirked gently at Fred. "I'm having loads of fun."

He only had time to smile shyly back before an abnormally loud shout came from the girl standing behind me, breaking the moment. "Fraternizing with the enemy? You've got to be JOKING, Ronald! The whole point of the Tournament is International Magical Co-Operation... to make friends!" Even in her argument, Hermione seemed unsure of herself, but in the uproar of it all neither she nor the boy she was speaking with could tell.

"Friends, Hermione? I think he's got more than friendship on his mind!" For this moment, Ron's voice wasn't its usual, squeaky volume, but a confident growl.

"Is that what you think?!" she exclaimed, now walking angrily out of the Hall. The fact she was leaving did not make her voice any quieter to us. "Well you know what to do, don't you?!" A silence proved that he, in fact, did not know what he was to do. "Next time there's a ball, pluck up the courage and ask me before someone else does!"

Our table had gone quiet, and the sound of Hermione slightly sobbing could be heard. Fred and I looked around at George, Katie, Ginny and Neville, not knowing exactly what to say after the unexpected uproar, so I was thankful to see Cedric and Cho approaching us.

"Hi Sara."

"Cedric." I said, nodding in his direction.

"Just wanted to say goodnight. Cho and I are heading off to bed." He smiled and put his arm around Cho, who looked very flushed after a night of dancing.

I stood up next to Cedric and allowed him to give me a hug. "Alright, goodnight then. Goodnight, Cho!" Cho and I shook hands and the smitten couple exited the Hall.

George and Katie got up and left as well, leaving Fred and I alone with Neville and Ginny. At that time, a gentle melody began to play and my stomach started to turn. It reminded me that the Ball would soon be over and we would have to go back to school again. I wished the night would never end.

"Do you want to dance?" Fred asked. The way he said it this time sounded different from the first. His voice was shaky and a nervous smile graced his usually confident features. Without a word, I took his hand and he swept me onto the dance floor. Fred's arms coiled around my waist as mine wrapped around his neck. I took the time to listen to the words the band was singing, and I couldn't help but smirk.

"Don't let this magic die." they sang.

"Er, Sara?" His feet stopped moving, forcing me to stay in my spot, and he put his hands on my shoulders.

"Yeah?" I barely had time to look up at him before his lips gently came to my own. My eyes instinctively closed and my heart was beating out of time again. He stepped back slightly just enough to see my reaction to his sudden move, and I could tell by the smirk on his face, he was not disappointed. I was apparently smiling. I wasn't really aware; my face had gone numb.

"I've been wanting to do that for a-" I didn't even give him enough time to finish his sentence before standing on my tiptoes and kissing him tenderly on the lips.

"Don't worry, me too."

The clock had read one in the morning as Fred and I re-entered the empty common room. Ginny and Neville had come up an hour or so before we had, so Fred and I were positive we were the last Gryffindors to come to bed.

"I'm not very tired." I lied fairly convincingly, my smile failing to fade. I was tired, but this day didn't have to end just yet.

"Neither am I... want to sit down for a little while, before going to bed then?" I nodded and followed Fred in sitting on the couch in front of the crackling fireplace. He put his arm around my shoulder, allowing me to cuddle into him. We had only been sitting side by side for what seemed like five minutes before I drifted off into a comforting sleep.


	14. A Perfect Match

Chapter Fourteen: A Perfect Match

The day after the ball was a lazy one for everyone. It had to be almost noon when I'd woken up alone on the common room couch. The snow that had built up on the window ledge indicated I had slept through a fairly large storm, making me wonder what else I had missed. Sitting up on the comfy red sofa caused something to fall off of me. Curious as to what it could be, I held the piece of clothing up in front of me to examine it. It took about a second to recognize that the navy blue, knit sweater with a golden 'F' on the front belonged to Fred. Where was he anyway? Or anyone else for that matter...

"Sara!" I flipped around in my seat to find Neville still in his pajamas, beaming at me.

"Morning, Neville."

"How'd you sleep?" His grin did not leave his face. "Tired, were you?"

I didn't even realize that I was still in my dress from the previous evening. "Oh!" I chuckled. "Yeah. I was exhausted. Hey, how was your night with Ginny?"

"Pretty good." He shrugged. "I mean, it was fun and all, but nothing extraordinary happened. Which reminds me. I saw you with Fred last night – congratulations, mate!" With a pat on the back, Neville sat on the couch next to me.

I could only laugh and blush at his comment. "Yeah, thanks."

"What happened with Fred and Sara last night?" came Katie's voice from behind Neville and I.

"They kissed."

"Finally!"

"What d'you mean 'finally'?!" I asked, my voice a little louder than I'd have hoped.

Katie gigled, shaking her ponytails up and down. "Honestly, Sara. You two have been flirty for ages."

"He was joking around with me, and I was playing along!"

"Yeah, alright."

"Really!"

"Sara, you're so naive."

"Sara," I heard George's voice pop into the conversation next to Katie; as I refused to look her in the eye. "Fred's fancied you since that day at the World Cup." As if my face couldn't get any redder.

"But he said he didn't ask the girl he wanted to the ball because she fancied someone else."

"Yeah, mate. You fancied Cedric." George whispered his last arguement in my ear to ensure its secrecy. My eyes went wide. I had no time to respond, for Fred was making his way into the common room.

"Good morning, beautiful." He smiled with such a radiance that only proved he'd had a good time at the ball, as well. Without having to think about it, I jumped off the sofa, ran towards his voice and gave him a tight hug.

"Thanks for the sweater."

"No problem." He beamed and kissed my forehead. "Hey, I've got an idea." Fred knelt down in front of me and held both my hands in both of his own. "How about you and I spend the day together." Apparently he took my bright smile as a 'yes', because he kept talking. "Good. Bundle up, it's cold outside."

Without wasting any time, I quickly made my way to the dormitory to change. Excitement flooded me as memories from the ball came rushing back. He kissed me! Nothing could've been better than how I felt right at that moment. I changed into my dark purple sweater, new winter cloak, gloves and Fred's hat that he'd allowed me to keep.

Upon returning to the common room, I noticed Neville had curled up in an armchair and was reading a book on Herbology, and George and Katie had disappeared from view. Fred waited patiently on the sofa, but since he couldn't see me coming, I decided to sneak up on him in true Weasley twin fashion.

I tiptoed behind him quietly and cupped my hands over his eyes. "Guess who!"

"Um, Ronnikins?"

Letting go of his eyes, I jumped in his line of vision. "No, it's me!"

"I know, Sara. I'm joking. Ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's go." He stood from the couch, smirked and grabbed my hand to lead me outside.

Fred's soft hand in my own, showing me down the stairs didn't seem as comforting as it had the many times we'd held hands before. After that kiss, holding his hand made my heart jump into my throat.

"Nice robes." He said, fnially slowing down so I was able to catch up and walk next to him.

"Oh thanks. Christmas gift."

"Er, Sara?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad we can have today just to ourselves... After last night I was afraid things would get awkward between us." Fred's eyes were pointed at the ground in shame as we walked down a deserted corridor.

"Why would things get awkward?" My cheeks turned a deep shade of red. "I mean, I like you."

"Yeah?" That beautiful smile came to his face once more, along with the sparkle in his eye. "Well I wasn't sure. I thought you'd fancied Cedric."

"I did. I guess since he turned me down, I really took into consideration what you told me."

"What was that?"

"If he can't see how amazing I am, he's not worth it."

"Well, I think you're amazing."

How else could I have responded to that comment than turning a bright shade of red that would have complimented last night's gown nicely. Luckily, he continued because I was at a loss for words.

"And that makes me worth it?"

"Oh shut up!"

Fred could tell I was getting uncomfortable because he decided to change the subject. "It's snowed a lot since this morning, I can't wait until you see the kind of snow we get here."

"I did live in Canada, you know." I shook my head disapprovingly in his direction. "We got loads of snow there."

"Nothing compared to here."

We'd reached the giant oak doors to the castle, and he pushed them open with ease. The layer of white, fluffy condensation on the previously luscious earth had to be three feet deep. There were no footprints, regardless of the fact that peple had been out and about for hours now. "It's amazing!" I couldn't believe how the scene seemed to sparkle under the sunlight.

"Told you." Fred pulled out his wand and flicked it at the hidden path in front of him, causing the snow to jump out of our way as we walked towards the lake.

"Have you ever been skating before?"

"I don't think you understood me the first time. I'm Canadian."

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." That's when that red-haired boy in front of me pulled his backpack off his shoulder, which I had just noticed was present and extracted two pairs of simple black skates. "Here, sit down by the tree, I'll tie up your skates."

I did as I was told and allowed Fred to tie up the bladed boots on my feet. He was very gentle. It reminded me of the time I was ignorant to the little things like that which he'd done for me. "Thanks."

"Come on, let's go."

We stood on the thick ice of the lake's surface and after a shakey start – for it had been years since I practied – we were gliding smoothly along the ice. I'd felt like I was floating on a cloud. Sliding gracefully on the lake, surrounded by white frosting and with Fred's hand in mine, life could not get any better.

It only took one little slip for me to lose my balance and slam into the ice beneath me.

"Ow!" I grunted as my rear end throbbed with pain. Fred's hand had been lost from mine as he also tumbled to the ground.

"You okay?" he asked, brushing the snow from his knees and trying to stand up. Upon getting back to his feet, Fred's eyes grew wide and I didn't understand why until I felt the ice cracking right under the place I had fallen. I tried to move, but my left ankle flashed with a white hot pain.

"Ow!" I screamed again.

"Sara!" Fred ran towards me but as his comforting hand reached out for mine, the lake had already swallowed me whole. Any sound previously surrounding me had been muffled and the water was so cold it burned my skin. Opeing my mouth to scream would only cause more pain. My mind was racing a mile a minute. Where did Fred go? Just then, a giant hand clasped my figure in its grip and clung me to the warm body it belonged to.

"What happened 'ere, Fred?"

"The ice broke when she fell, I tried to grab her but she was too far down..." Whoever had been carrying me started to move.

"'Ere, I'll take 'er to the hospital wing for ya."

"Thanks, Hagrid." The voice that was Fred waivered and sounded as though he would cry.

"Is she okay?" Katie. That was definitely Katie. That meant...

"Course she's not." George. Those four warm voices were the last I heard before blacking out completely.

"Please, wake up..."

"Maybe this will be like that movie where the boy falls in the freezing water and goes deaf..."

"What are you talking about, Hermione?"

"Nevermind."

"She'd better not go deaf..."

"Sara, please wake up."

"I'm not deaf." I finally spoke up, "I've been listening to you talking for a few minutes." Upon opening my eyes, I saw Fred by my side with Lizzy, Hermione and George. I also noticed that Cedric sat in a corner alone and only seemed to perk up when I spoke. Fred squeezed my hand in both of his.

"Sara, I'm so sorry."

"Fred, you didn't do anything."

"I know. I should have."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"Sara, Pomfrey says you just need some meds." Lizzy explained. "We just wanted to make sure you woke up alright."

"What's wrong with me?"

"You had a broken ankle... that was fixed with a wave of a wand. But you did fall in freezing water, so you'll need some Pepper-Up Potion." Hermione smiled and then added, "You should be in your own bed tonight."

That's when an anxious Madam Pomfrey bustled into the room. "Okay, you've seen her wake up! Everybody out!"

As if it was ritual, they all said goodbye and shuffled out of sight. Only one familiar face stayed in their place, sitting hunched over in a chair and looking at the ground.

"Take this." The old witch handed me a glass of brightly-coloured liquid and glared at me until I downed the whole thing. Without a word, she yanked the cup from my weak hand and went back to her office. Finally, he spoke.

"Sara..." his hazel eyes still were focused on the stone floor. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." My voice was positive and he pulled his chair to my bedside. Cedric's eyes met mine.

"I feel horrible."

"What, why?"

"...Did you have fun at the ball last night?"

Was that only last night? "Loads."

"Oh good. I uh, I feel horrible I didn't ask you." There was a pause.

"...But why?" That was so awkward... "I mean, we're just friends."

"We are. I know. But I know you fancied me."

"Oh." Great. Red cheeks again.

"And I led you on. And I know I made you cry... You're my best friend. I didn't want to hurt you."

"Listen. Don't worry about it. Things worked out the way they were supposed to. Fred kissed me last night."

"Finally!" A smile cracked on his face at last.

"Did everyone know about this?!" I laughed.

"Basically. You two are a perfect match." Cedric grinned, and for the first time I looked at him as though he was my brother.

"Can I ask you something?" I decided it was now or never.

"Sure."

"What does Cho think of me?" If I were Cho, I would probably not like the girl who's had a long-time crush on my boyfriend; that's the last thing I needed – to not be allowed to see Cedric.

"She likes you."

"Does she, or are you just saying that?"

"Why would I about that? She likes you." Looking deep into his caramel eyes, I knew he was being serious.

I nodded slowly as if careful not to get too dizzy and smiled like I couldn't hold it in. "So Mr. Champion, have you figured out the egg yet?"

"Uh, not exactly."

We talked far into the night, laughingand smiling at our past and contemplating the future. It felt tight. Cedric and I were meant to have this king of relationship – the kind where nothing else matters because you'll always be there for one another. Best friends. This must be what it feels like. The later we talked, the more I came to realize that Hermione was wrong. I would not be sleeping in my own bed that night.


	15. Serves You Right

Chapter Fifteen: Serves You Right

As the wore on, I felt closer to all of my friends. I no longer had anything to hide. Fred had become very open with me and we often found something to joke about together. Cedric seemed to be more and more nervous as the second task approached. He appeared to be very cautious of his surroundings. Harry didn't seem to be phased by it, but he had other things on his mind.

It was the night before the second task and I saw in the library. I remember, I was reading a story about a witch who fell in love with a vampire, because I couldn't believe how that relationship would work out; so I listened to Hermione and Ron helping Harry try to find a way to breathe underwater for an hour. It was getting late and I managed to get out a yawn before a very creepy-looking Moody protruded from the shadows of the dimming candle light.

His hoarse voice growled in the direction of our little group. "Professor McGonagall wishes to see you." Hermione, Harry and Ron looked at each other with confusion, then begun to stand. "No, not you, Potter. Just Weasley and Granger." His regular eye caught mine. "And you, Hughes."

"But sir, its the night before the second task..." Hermione muttered.

"I am aware of what day it is. Potter should be properly prepared by now. Granger, Weasley, Hughes, come with me."

Without a word, the three of us rose and followed behind Moody's clunking footsteps out the library and down the hall. The journey only lasted a minute or two, until we reached a wooden door. I expected Moody to knock but instead it swung open to reveal McGonagall sitting behind her desk, facign a small, blonde girl.

"Here they are, Minerva."

"Thank you, Alastor."

Moody shut the door, leaving the group of us in silence.

"We just need to wait for..."

"No need to wait for anyone, Minerva. I'm here." All of our heads darted towards the doorway to see a very perky Dumbledore – a large smile planted firmly in place.

"Professor, what..." Hermione's voice was cut short by Dumbledore's quiet one.

"Hermione, Ron, Sara, take a seat." Although I was nervous as hell, I did as I was told. The only thing keeping me sane was that I had two of my friends there with me. "First, I'll introduce everyone. Gabrielle, this is Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger and Sara Hughes. This is Gabrielle Delacour, Fleur's younger sister." That's when it clicked but it was Hermione who said it first.

"Professor, is this about the Tournament?"

"You're a bright witch, aren't you?" Dumbledore replied slightly sarcastically.

"Yes." McGonagall nodded. "The next task requires a little help from the loved ones of the Champions." My heart began to beat at an alarming rate. Gabrielle was obviously for Fleur; which one of us was for Viktor? Clearly Hermione. Ron would be Harry's best friend, leaving me with Cedric. My head was spinning.

"What do we need to do?" I asked without being aware of it.

"I will put you under a charm myself," Dumbledore began, "where you will be in a state of sleep... and you will be able to breathe underwater. The Champions will have to save you from the bottom of the lake in an hour. Once they take you to the surface, you will wake up. In case of emergency, there will be many witches and wizards on watch."

This was too much information. Who know being friends with Cedric would send me plunging into the bottom of the lake? Ever since I'd fallen through the ice, water had been a bit of a phobia for me. This would be as much of a challenge for me as it would be for the champions. The lump in my throat grew at an enormous rate.

"Sir, when are we getting this charm put on us?"

"Well... now."

"Now? But I've an assignment to do!"

"Ron. We have to do this." Hermione sighed exasperatedly. "That assignment was given to us weeks ago! Serves you right leaving it until last minute."

"Okay, who wants to go first?" Dumbledore extracted his wand from his robes and approached us.

"I will." I forced myself to say. If I'd seen someone else get the spell put on them, I would back out altogether.

"You won't feel a thing, Sara. Not until you reach the surface, anyway." The tip of his wand touched the back of my neck and I instantly fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Suddenly, the ice cold water streamed from my face as I broke the surface of the immense body of water I was so familiar with. My long hair clung to my face and back as a strong force pulled me towards a wooden tower in the lake. I realized the force to be Cedric pulling me towards land, so I helped him to kick towards safety. As Cedric hoisted me up onto the dock after him, I heard the crowd cheering for us. It wasn't until Fred and Cho rushed over to our cuddled up, shivering bodies that I noticed how cold I actually was.

"You were amazing!" Cho smiled warmly. "You came in first!"

"Yes!" Cedric screamed, and hugged me to celebrate. Cho wrapped him in a towel in attempts to warm him up, and then jumped in his arms.

Fred was the one to hand me a towel with an obviously forced smile. "So you were Cedric's prized possession?"

"Apparently."

"What about Cho?"

"He's known me longer, I guess. We're best friends."

"Right."

"See you in the common room, Fred." I told him on our way back to the castle. "I've got to stop off at the washroom."

"Alright, see you in a few minutes."

I walked quickly in the direction of the girls' room when upon turning a corner, I ran into a short, blonde boy in a Slytherin uniform.

"Malfoy." I greeted angrily, hoping he would just leave me alone.

"Hughes." He sneered. "I noticed your boyfriend did well in the competition today."

"Oh, he's not my boyfriend."

Rushing passed him, I heard him mutter, "At least, that's what you want people to think, right?"

"What are you talking about? I'm with Fred."

"Ah yes, the weasel. How on earth do you kiss that thing? I would imagine that a weasel like him would be grimey and disgusting. Unlike that Diggory boy. You wish you could kiss him, don't you?"

"No, I don't actually." My voice was dripping with as much attitude as his. "Why don't you just mind your own business?"

"Oh, I can't let a little cheater like you run free." He whipped his wand out from his pocket and before I could respond, he cried, "_Petrificus totalus_!" I lay motionless on the floor, my arms and legs straight as a board, my lips glued together. The slime ball dragged me by the feet and hid me in a closet in the Prefects' washroom. I heard his shoes clink against the marble floors, then the door banged shut, and I was alone.

I could have been there for minutes or hours, I wouldn't have known the difference, but when I heard the door open and couldn't do anything about it, I almost went mad. The spell must have been wearing off, because my lips began to move again.

"Help! Help me!"

The closet door opened and Cedric's face came into view. "Sara?"

"Little help?"

He waved his wand and my limbs regained mobility. "Who did this to you?"

"Do you have to ask that? It was Malfoy." He and I strode out of the room and down the dorridor. I was furious, but he was only trying to keep up with my pace.

"Forget about him. You let him get you riled up."

I slowed down a bit. "You're right."

Cedric walked me to the end of the corridor where the Gryffindor portrait lay and gave me a tight hug goodbye.

"Congratulations today." I said, "And thanks for saving me."

"No problem." With a smile, he was gone.

I entered the portrait hole to see Fred, George, Katie, Hermione, Neville, Ron and Harry all sitting around the fireplace. As soon as he caught sight of me, Fred jumped up.

"Where have you been?"

"I was attacked by Malfoy, he..."

"Oh Malfoy," Fred's voice grew cold. "Speaking of him, I ran into him on my way here. He told me about your little run-in."

"What did he say?"

"He told me that you had feelings for Cedric and didn't know how to let me down."  
"What?!"

"Sara, why did you have to do this to me? It's so obvious you love him!"

"I do love him!" We were both screaming at each other by this point. "But in a completely different way! I love you!"

"Sure you do." A very heart-broken Weasley turned away from me and went to his dormitory.

"You guys believe me, don't you?" I pleaded, looking at the rest of my friends with hope.

George, Katie and Ron left without a word. Harry and Neville left as soon as they noticed the other three leave as well. Only Hermione remained. "I want to believe you... but why else would you have stayed with Cedric all night in the hospital wing? And you were the thing he would miss most... I just don't know..."

Hermione turned and ran up the stairs, leaving me alone in the common room with the fading fire as my only companion.


	16. You're Not Alone

Chapter Sixteen: You're Not Alone

Those were the last words Fred Weasley said to me. I sat alone at breakfast one morning after the incident... I can't tell which morning, as time no longer passed at the same speed anymore. I poured myself a glass of pumpkin juice and looked around at the food that wasn't as appatizing as it had been in previous weeks.

"Hey." A squeaky voice said from behind me. It was Neville. "Can I sit here?" I only motioned to the empty seat beside me. "You know, Sara, I think Fred is being really immature about this whole thing." Neville's opinion made my heart swell, forcing me to look him in the eye. "Yeah, I know you care about him more than Cedric. It's so obvious! And I can't believe Fred trusts Malfoy's word over yours..."

"I know!" I shouted.

"I just wanted to tell you that." He muttered. "You've been completely alone for a week," Had it only been a week? "and I thought you should know you're not alone. I'm here."

He grinned at me, making me smile slightly. "Thanks Neville."

Neville and I spent a lot of time together after that. Seeing the twins in every one of my classes only broke my heart into smaller pieces. Fred wouldn't even acknowledge my existance. Neither would Cedric. He thought that if he stopped talking to me, maybe Fred would come to his senses. George and Katie only gave me sympathetic looks when Fred wasn't paying attention. Back in the common room, I would sit and study with Neville. Ron couldn't believe I would cheat on his brother, Harry had the third task to worry about and Hermione's logic deemed me a backstabber. Lizzy, who had been spending more and more time with Dennis and Natalie, barely noticed I was upset.

This went on for a month, until one Friday night, one of the red-headed twins approached me alone in the common room.

"Hey Sara, can I talk to you?"

"Sure, George."

"My brother is stupid."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. He loves you so much. He's just scared you don't."

"But I do!"

"Then prove it."

"Prove it, how?!"

"Listen," George whispered to show me just how loud I was getting, "Fred thinks I'm meeting him in the Room of Requirement in twenty minutes. Go up there, think about what you want to tell him and the room will open." He gave me no time for rebuttle. "If you aren't there, he'll know it was a set up and you'll lose your chance."

Next thing I knew, I was standing in front of an empty brick wall. How George convinced me to be the one to apologize was beyond me, but here I was. All I had to do to get in the room was think about how much I loved Fred. That seemed simple enough. The memories of Fred holding me tight in his arms was enough to make a rare, wide smile appear on my face and it was enough to make a door appear through the bricks. With a deep breath I grasped the handle and pushed the door open. In the classroom-sized space there was a four-poster bed, a couch, and a round table with two chairs faceing each other. In the middle stood Fred.

"What are you doing here?" Fred asked. I wasn't sure if he was more nervous, angry or scared. Either way, his heart was pumping like mad.

"I came to talk to you. We need to talk."

"No we don't."

"Yes we do. I talked to your brother just a few minutes ago."

"Of course you did. I can't believe he would do this to me..."

"Fred, you love me."

"So? It's not like you love me."

"I do love you!"

His pause was momentary. "More than anyone?"

"More than anyone."

"More than Cedric?"

"More than a thousand Cedrics." A smile formed on Fred's face for the first time in a month, and for the first time in a month, he stared me in the eyes with no hate behind it. "I can't believe you would believe Malfoy over me."

"I was scared, Sara. I thought you were just using me as a backup."

"It's always been you, Fred. I just didn't know it at first." Without warning, he strode over to me, wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me with more passion than he'd ever kissed me before.

"God, I love you, Sara."

"I love you too, Fred."

"Promise you'll never leave me?"

"As long as you promise never to leave me."

"I promise."


	17. Everything Will Be Fine

Chapter Seventeen: Everything Will Be Fine

It was the day of the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament, and I was only feeling anxiety. This would either be the day that my best friend would be told that he was the Triwizard Champion, or it would be the day that he needed my support more than ever. I was excited for Harry as well, but my nerves for him didn't waiver in the slightest. For Harry, this day wasn't about winning or losing; it was about life or death – a much more serious gamble.

"Hey Sara, you excited?" Fred asked, holding my hand as we sat in the common room, waiting for the rest of our group of friends to get ready to watch the conclusion of the Tournament.

"Very." I said unconvincingly. He could see right through me, but I knew he didn't want to press the matter further.

Hermione and Ron were the next couple down the dormitory steps, closely followed by Neville, Ginny, George and Katie. "Is that everyone, then?" Hermione inquired, looking around the room. With a sharp nod of confirmation, she led everyone out of the common room and down to the arena where the final task would be taking place.

"Cedric!" I screamed from my seat in the front row of the stadium. Cedric took a look up into the crowd and waved when he spotted me grinning at him. Then he beckoned me down into the arena where he stood wearing a yellow and black Hufflepuff uniform. He was in front of one of four entrances to an extravegant hedge maze.

I shrugged. "Okay. Fred, I'll be back. Save my spot." Without waiting for a response, I ran down the steps to the arena and gave Cedric a giant, bone-crushing hug. "How are you?"

"Could be better." He was shivering. I was positive it wasn't from the cold, as it was fairly warm for a summer night and he was wearing long sleeves.

I shook my head. "Don't worry, you'll do fine. Better than fine. You'll win!"

Cedric grinned down on me. "I hope so." He looked into the audience and upon noticing Cho, blew her a kiss and waved at her.

That's about the time Dumbledore approached me. "Sara," he said, "I need you to go find a seat now. The task is about to begin."

"Alright." I nodded at him showing I understood, then turned to Cedric. "Good luck." All I got was one more hug before I had to dash up to my spot in the stands next to Fred.

"How's he doing?" Fred asked, no jealousy in his tone.

"Nervous."

Dumbledore's voice suddenly rose over the stadium. "Welcome everyone, to the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament!" He paused to allow for the audience's cheer. "Hidden deep inside the maze is the Triwizard Cup. The only person who knows its exact whereabouts are Professor Moody, who placed the Cup in the maze earlier this afternoon. Because Mr. Potter and Mr. Diggory are tied for first place, they will go into the maze first, soon afterward followed by Mr. Krum and Ms. Delacour. At the sound of the cannon, both Hogwarts contenders will be allowed to enter the..." Filch, the caretaker set off the cannon a little too early and the sound echoed through the night sky, cutting off Dumbledore. He rolled his eyes behind his half-moon spectacles, and shook his hands towards the Champions, indicating that Harry and Cedric were allowed to begin. I took a deep breath and held it until I could no longer see Cedric's figure as he made a left-hand turn into the maze. All we could do now was wait.

For hours we waited, not knowing what was happening inside the darkness of the maze. Fleur had sent up red sparks to show she was in trouble, and she had been disqualified only minutes into the competition, but as far as the rest of us knew, all three males were still safe.

"They've been in there for two and a half hours now." Hermione sighed. "What could they be doing in there?"

"No idea." I prayed that nothing bad had happened. What could happen? The whole thing was supervised. I allowed myself to exhale at the thought.

Very suddenly, the bodies of Harry and Cedric slammed into the floor where they had begun. Harry grasped onto the shiny, blue Triwizard Cup with one hand as he lay sprawled on the ground, and Cedric was in the other arm, clung tight to Harry. Everyone, including me stood and cheered for Harry. He was the youngest Triwizard Champion history had ever seen and he had won! If that was the case, he highly deserved it. That's when I noticed the boy clinging to the Cup was shaking violently – dirt, blood and tears plastered to his face. Cedric hadn't moved.

Words could not form in my mind. All I could do was scream and point at his body. I could hear Cho screaming from directly behind me. The cheering slowly died down as the others realized Cedric's state. A man wearing glasses and Ministry robes escaped the crowd and ran towards Cedric. "Let me through!" He shouted, his voice full of fear. "That's my son!" At the sound of Cedric's father weeping, tears began to pour down my face; though I couldn't feel them.

Fred didn't bother holding me back. He and his brother sat with identical, shocked expressions on their faces. I jumped from my seat and sprinted towards my best friend. Cho was right next to me. I could only imagine how she felt. Probably about as horrible as I did. Harry was in such a state of anxiety that Moody had to drag him away from the crowd. I fell to my knees, no longer able to hold myself upright and began to grasp at his shirt sleeve. His face was cold and losing colour; his eyes had lost their sparkle. I got hold of myself long enough to twist my head around to see Cho sitting on the ground, her face was hidden in her trembling hands. Shifting over to her, I reached out slowly to hug her, but she leapt onto me and squeezed me so tight in hopes it might feel as though Cedric was the one in her arms.

I sat on the common room sofa alone that evening, staring at the dying fire in disbelief. Cedric was gone... How could Cedric be _gone_? He had been by my side all year, and all at once, he was taken from me. I sensed someone coming up behind me and taking a seat to my right.

"Are you okay, Sara?" It was Fred. I knew it was a stupid question. He knew it was a stupid question. But what else was there to say?

"Not particularly." The tears began to surface again. "Everything hurts."

Fred shuffled toward me and draped his arm over my shoulder. "It's gonna be alright. Don't worry." His words were meaningless to me. No matter what he said, nothing would ever be the same again.

"I think I'm gonna go for a walk." I stood from the sofa and made my way to the portrait hole. "I just need to be alone right now." Fred nodded at me, and I left the room.

My little stroll around the castle only made me think about what I'd lost even more, causing me to cry again. As I turned the corridor, a tall, thin wizard with greasy black hair and billowing black robes blocked my path.

"Miss Hughes." He was monotonous.

"Professor Snape."

"How are you feeling?"

The fact that he even asked me that question has confused me to this day, but I answered him nonetheless. "Not very well, sir."

"Come with me."

Not giving me much of a choice, Snape led me up many flights of stairs, I didn't even try to keep track of how many, then stopped at a golden phoenix statue. I couldn't hear him muttering the password, but the statue began to spin, revealing a staircase that resembled a spiralling muggle escalator. Snape urged me to step on, so I did so. It brought me to a wooden door which Snape pushed open. Inside was Dumbledore sitting at his desk, already speaking with a short girl with straight black hair and cat eyes. Cho had her hand held up to her mouth gently.

"Sara." Dumbledore said, his voice dripping with sympathy. "Take a seat next to Miss Chang, here." As I sat down in the second chair facing the headmaster, I heard the door close. Apparently Snape had gone. "I know you two were very close to Cedric Diggory, and I wanted to tell you exactly what happened to him before I told everyone at his funeral this weekend." I don't know if he was expecting either of us to respond, but he took a pause before continuing. "The Cup was a portkey. Harry and Cedric" I cringed at his name, "both touched the Cup at the same time and it transported them to a graveyard where Voldemort murdered Cedric and used Harry to bring himself back to life." The old wizard spoke with a grim sternness in his voice throughout his story.

"He was murdered by You-Know-Who?" Cho asked quietly, obviously still in shock from what she just learned.

Dumbledore sighed. "I'm afraid to say it's true. Voldemort is back."

Hearing the story in Dumbledore's office was supposed to make it easier on me when I heard it the second time at Cedric's funeral. The story did not get easier. If it was possible, I cried even more. Lizzy, who sat on one side of me, looked up into my eyes and clutched my hand.

"It's okay, Sara. Everything will be fine." Somehow the innocence in her voice was more believable than when Fred told me the same thing days before. Her sincerity only made the tears fall faster.

My first year at Hogwarts had definitely been an adventure; there is no doubt about that. I had met many wonderful friends who made me laugh as hard as I could, who made me think about life in general, and who helped me to mature more in one year than I ever had before. I had a boyfriend that I cared about more than anyone, and a sister who meant the world to me. I'd also had a best friend. The best friend I'd ever had. But it took me the entire train ride home to realize that just because he wasn't there in body, didn't mean he wasn't always going to be with me in spirit.

"Sara," Fred said, snatching me from this daydream, "you've turned my world upside down. You have no idea. Meeting you was the best thing that's ever happened to me." We had the compartment to ourselves, as Ron had fallen asleep and Ginny and Lizzy had gone to visit Hermione and Harry.

"Fred," I looked him in the eyes that made my stomach fill with butterflies, "I know Cedric's gone, but just so you know, I think of you as my best friend and my boyfriend... You're not just some guy to me, you're everything. I love you."

"I love you, too."


End file.
